A Raven's Flock
by Innate Lymphoid Cell
Summary: Her quest for revenge was over. Velvet Crowe thought that her journey would have concluded there, a fitting end for the Lord of Calamity, but fate had other plans for her. Now, thrust into another world of demons on yet another Scarlet Night, she might just have the chance to live a very different life.
1. Chapter 1

_It is called the Scarlet Night._

_When the full moon aligns perfectly with the flows of the many branches of the earthpulse far beneath the land's surface, invisible to all who unknowingly dwell above, the energy of the living world itself spills upward into the sky, turning the moon and all caught by its light the crimson red of blood. Mana permeates the air, enabling the actions of humans above to reach even Empyreans slumbering deep beneath the surface world. With the density of mana charged in the air, malevolence sinks its claws far easier into the heart of human, beast and malakhim alike, causing them to far more easily transform into daemons._

_It is this phenomenon that set the stage for the fall of the Holy Midgand Empire and the Age of Asgard, through the events known as the Opening and the Advent. In the years that followed, the ideals of a single man focused solely on a world of reason where none would ever fall prey to their emotions clashed against those of a young girl consumed only by vengeance. _

_It is a tale of betrayal and hatred, of companionship and care, and ultimately, of discovery and redemption. _

_But that story has already been told before. Artorius' dream of an ideal world was put to an end high above the Empyrean's Throne, and Velvet Crowe – Lord of Calamity – was forevermore sealed with the Empyrean Innominat, each devouring the energies of the other, paradoxically preventing Innominat from ever reawakening until the world finally came to an end._

_In that state of perpetual conflict, she dreamt. _

_She saw a world where Celica had never been killed during the Opening, where Artorius had remained Arthur. It was a world where Laphicet Crowe had never been subjected to the affliction he carried, where Innominat had been but the merest of mentions found in ancient texts of undecipherable tongues. She had been _herself_ \- Velvet Crowe, sister to Laphicet, Celica and Arthur. She hadn't been a therion, had never been brought down the path of vengeance that had led to her claiming so many lives and being the cause of untold destruction. _

_There, they travelled the world. They saw all the sights that Desolation had to offer, from the densest of cities of Midgand to the furthest reaches of Endgand. They braved beasts and terrors, explored the highest of peaks and the deepest of caverns, and found companions from journeys past. They shared love and laughter, achieving the aspirations they hadn't managed to fulfil in the waking world._

_It was the most pleasant of dreams._

_Unfortunately, as she had learnt from her time under Melchior's illusion in Aball, all dreams had to end._

_...and what better way to end a dream, than with what started her quest in the first place?_

_And so it was, that in a distant world unfathomably separated from Desolation by time and space, the full moon was stained the deep crimson of blood. _

_On this Scarlet Night, just days after one Kamado Tanjiro had put down the demon known as Kyogai with the help of his newfound companions Hashibara Inosuke and Akatsuma Zenitsu, the story of Velvet Crowe shall begin anew._

_On this Scarlet Night, everything that was known about demons by both demon and demon slayer alike will be challenged. Sporadic incidents of demons being spontaneously born will be reported, leaving entire villages devastated in their wake. Kibutsuji Muzan and Ubuyashiki Kagaya, leaders of a shadow war between two factions that had plagued Japan for centuries, will be forced to rethink all their plans in light of this unprecedented event._

_On this Scarlet Night, word will spread of the Red-Armed Demon Girl. Some would come to call her a monster, while others would term her a saviour. Some would call her a lunatic, speaking to an unseen person where there was none._

_On this Scarlet Night, the course of destiny shall forevermore be altered._

-o-o-o-

She didn't know how long she had been dreaming.

The last thing she remembered was finally ending her quest for vengeance, thrusting the Shepherd Artorius' own blade into his heart. In his final moments, she had seen the barest of glimpses of Arthur Crowe, husband of Celica Crowe as the light faded from his eyes. She had embraced Laphi – no, her brother had died long ago – _Innominat_, both of them consuming the energies of the other for eternity. She had bid her companions farewell, had begged for Phi to _live_ for both their sakes and to save other damned souls like hers.

After that, she dreamt of a shared life with what remained of Laphicet within Innominat. They had been a true family; herself, Laphi, Celica, Arthur...

It was a fitting end to the Lord of Calamity who had damned so many others in her blind pursuit for vengeance. It would have been penitence for all the lives that had been destroyed directly or indirectly by her actions, sealing Innominat to give all humans the chance to truly be _free _to live and err, embracing all aspects of what it meant to be human rather than the utopia of reason that Artorius had dreamt of.

It was why she was now understandably confused as to why she was standing in the middle of what seemed to be an open field, when her last conscious memory was of standing at the cape at the end of the Tranquil Woods near Aball, gazing at the vast open ocean with her brother, reminiscing over the adventures they had shared over the years.

Then, the next instant, she finally regained her bearings, and reality came crashing down upon her.

_That life was a dream_. _A fake. Laphi died three years ago. _

It didn't make sense, though. She was supposed to be sealed with Innominat, high above the Empyrean's Throne. And now that she had the time to think about it, she wasn't dressed in the same attire, either. She was wearing her everyday clothes from back in Aball, her long hair braided in the manner it had been back before the Opening, the day that everything had changed. At least the hidden blades in her wristguards and armoured boots were still there.

For an instant, she thought that it might be yet another dream, but the sensation of her bandaged left hand told her otherwise. Though presently obscured from sight and inactive, she was acutely aware of how each digit ended in sharp claws, the entire arm a mismatched series of jagged edges, ready to be unleashed at any moment.

It was the arm of a therion, a daemon that feasted on malevolence, that could consume anything and everything. It was the arm of the _real _Velvet Crowe, Lord of Calamity.

Slowly, deliberately, she brought that part of her to life, an act that simultaneously felt so foreign and yet intricately familiar to herself. With a _squelch_ that she had heard so many times before, the demonic limb broke free of the bandages that covered its form, oozing malevolence as wisps of red vapour trailed around it. She felt a familiar hunger, the sensation of never being full, of having to feed, to consume, to _devour – _

She suppressed that urge, just as she had always done. With another thought, she dismissed her arm, reverting it back to its disguised state. There were more important matters to deal with, now that it was established that she was, in fact, alive.

Though it was something she profoundly desired to know, dealing with the _why_ and _how_ of her present situation could wait. Up above, in plain view the vast agricultural farmland she was standing in (or at least she assumed it to be such, since there were only rows of tilled wheat as far as she could see), the blood-red moon dwarfed all other celestial bodies.

_A Scarlet Night_.

Unbidden, memories rushed to the fore of her mind.

_The Opening. She was running as fast as she could with Laphicet in her arms. Arthur had bid her to stay, to never give in to despair – _

_The Advent. The entire village turned into daemons. People she had known all her life, transformed into savage monsters, chasing her all the way as she ran through the Tranquil Woods. Arthur sacrificing Laphicet up above the Shrine. The resurrection of Innominat, and her transformation into a therion. She slew all the other daemons in a blind rage, her claw devouring them whole, only to find the bloodstained bodies of the villagers. Niko – _

No. This was not the time. She shook her head, reining in her confusion. For now, she needed to figure out just _where_ she was, since this was decidedly _not_ the Empyrean's Throne, or anywhere in Desolation she had ever visited. Everything else could come after.

The cold, logical part of her mind took over. It was night-time, that much was certain. Probably close to midnight, based on the position of the scarlet moon up above in the night sky. And this sensation in the air…

_Malevolence. _The air was charged with it, like it had been back in Haria after they had retrieved the newly transformed therion Kamoana from Palamides Temple. Without her consumption of the malevolence generated by the villagers, it had only accumulated, saturating their bodies, and transformed them into –

"_DEMONS!"_

She turned at the faint, shrill cry. Behind her, she could see flames in the distance, plumes of smoke catching the moonlight as they rose into the air. She squinted her eyes. There was a collection of buildings. A village? Illuminated by the spreading fires, people were desperately running away.

Toward her.

_Damn it, Eizen. _

Even here, without him by her side, and more than likely very, _very_ far away from the earth malak, the rotten luck of his Reaper's Curse still found a way to be a thorn in her side. She swore under her breath, furiously suppressing the memories of another Scarlet Night and another village in flames that were so uncannily similar to her present situation.

_No rest for the wicked. _

Without hesitation, she ran toward the fleeing villagers. Though her therion arm was inactive, it could still taste the malevolence spreading from the village, growing in intensity with each step she took.

_Hatred. Despair. Greed. Conceit. Obsession. Lust. Cowardice. Selfishness. _The eight types of malevolence blended together, until the point where she could no longer distinctly tease them apart.

As she neared, she took a moment to take in the state of the villagers, now that she was close enough to study their appearance. The robes they wore bore some similarity to Rokurou's clothing. Was she in that faraway continent that the Rangetsu family hailed from, then?

A man was tugging a young girl by the arm, his eyes wide with fear, glancing back every few steps toward the direction of the village. It only widened further when he finally noticed Velvet sprinting toward them.

"Run!" he shouted, his voice cracked and hoarse, his words punctuated by panicked and rapid breaths. "D- Demons! Demons in the village! RUN!"

She didn't pause, and neither did he. In scant moments, Velvet passed by his side, and in another, all she heard was his frantic yelling at her back.

"_W- What are you doing?! _There are demons in the village! And the moon – oh, it must be divine punishment –"

She ignored him completely. She had failed to save Aball years ago. She had damned the denizens of Haria to their fates. She had single-handedly left Hallawes and Meirchio devastated in her quest for revenge.

Daemons, exorcists and malakhim alike who had stood in her way had fallen by her hands. Yet at the end, there had always been innocents caught in her wake, entire towns destroyed by her actions. She had justified it as being the price she was willing to pay if it meant she had her vengeance on the man who had taken her brother's life.

But now Artorius was dead. She had achieved what she had set out to do.

Now, she was _free. _She had a chance at redemption, at atonement for everything she had done, no matter how much she didn't deserve it.

She would _not_ stand idly by and do nothing.

Besides, Phi and Eleanor wouldn't let her if they were around, anyway.

She could hear the roaring of flames now. Within seconds, she dashed past the makeshift wooden fence that demarcated the boundaries of the village. She couldn't see any daemons yet, but all around she could see some of the village's denizens collapsed on their knees, clutching at their chests, or grasping tightly at the sides of their heads, utterly unaware of what was going on around them. They were struggling, shaking violently, a sickly purple miasma surrounding them.

_Malevolence._ They were going to transform into daemons, and soon.

She couldn't save the villagers of Haria back then, not knowing the truth of how the transformation was achieved. She had always been told that it was transmitted by daemonblight, and it was only Eizen's later revelation of the topic taboo to malakhim that she learnt the truth.

After that event, she had always wondered if she could have done anything else differently. If she had known of malevolence back then, could she have somehow saved them? Could she have consumed the dark energy permeating the air before their bodies hit their physical limits? She never admitted those thoughts aloud, but it had always plagued her at the back of her mind.

Now, though, she could put that theory to the test.

Her left arm burst forth once more, an ugly crimson aberration of serrated edges and jagged teeth. Motes of thick purple malevolence emanated from it, far denser than everywhere else in her immediate surroundings.

"_D- D- Demon!"_

"_RUN!"_

"_It's a red-armed demon! Run!"_

She could hear screams from some of the villagers, but paid them no heed for now. With but a thought, she began the process that all therions knew well.

_Devour_.

Immediately, she felt the rush of malevolence being channelled into her arm, the unholy living entity taking deep, rapid gulps as its thick flesh pulsed and rippled as though swallowing. The wisps of purple smoke surrounding her limb grew denser, spreading around her body, and yet it was _contained._ All around her, the air was becoming less charged with malevolence. Those who had been close to the edge of tipping into the transformation were starting to stir, no longer struggling as violently, beginning to take a conscious look at their surroundings.

That was, of course, when they chanced upon the sight of her massive demonic claw sucking in what looked to be the very air itself, practically pulsing with energy as disgusting sounds of gulping and hissing emanated from it.

Understandably, they screamed, and began to flee. Some collapsed, looking utterly terrified of her. One had outright _fainted._

Par for the course for the Lord of Calamity, really.

Annoyingly, it made her work a lot harder, though, since the malevolence of despair that they generated was directly being fed into the air.

"Calm down!" she snapped, forcefully placing her free hand on the shoulder of one of the terrified villagers. That only seemed to worsen his fear, as he began screaming hysterically, backing up on his hands from where he already was on the ground.

_Oh, for the love of – _

"_DEMON!"_

She abandoned her efforts at attempting to placate the villagers. At least she was able to consume the malevolence faster than it could be generated. Already, it was becoming near-invisible in the air, and soon there would be too little of it to cause the transformation of any new daemons.

It certainly showed, based on how there were now far fewer catatonic villagers struggling against their transformations, and were instead now caught between running as fast as they could away from her and screaming as loudly as they could.

_Bet Magilou would have loved this_.

Velvet could hear her friend already. '_BWAHAHA! The village is ours! Flee for your lives, puny humans, lest our dark mistress sucks the marrow from your very bones!'_

Magilou... where was she now? Was she even alive?

Were the rest of her companions even still around?

She gritted her teeth, forcefully feeding the last of the malevolence in the air into her arm faster. Now wasn't the time for questions like those.

The first part of her plan was complete. There wasn't much of a risk of new daemons transforming, now. With that, she allowed her arm to return back to its inactive state, reducing the malevolence leaking out from her. She heard startled cries from all around, but didn't let it deter her in the slightest. There were still daemons about.

She couldn't save those that had already transformed. If any had the strength of will to resist their primal urges, as herself, Rokurou, Dyle and so many others had done, she would let them go, but for the rest...

...well, she had killed and devoured many other daemons before. Phi could have tried to purify them with those curious silver flames of his that he had never fully mastered at the time they faced down Innominat, but her dearest malak friend wasn't around. There wasn't any other option.

_Arthur's Third Maxim. Never waver once your sword is drawn. Control your feelings to control the tide of battle._

As she entered what seemed to be the village square, based on how the few paths in the relatively small village converged on it, she caught sight of the first of the daemons wreaking havoc in the village. There was what seemed to be a hulking wolf-like creature similar to the werewolves she had fought and killed many times over, and a towering ogre-like figure slowly lumbering about. They were mindless, thrashing around with wild abandon, completely consumed by the hatred and malevolence that had engulfed their bodies.

Suddenly, the wolf-daemon lunged at one of the nearby villagers – injured, clutching her leg, her mind registered – and instinct took over.

In a single bound, she traversed the space between them, her wrist-blade already extended, forcefully thrusting her arm forward as she dove from above toward her foe.

"Rising Falcon!"

The blade pierced cleanly through the daemon's flesh, the force of her impact propelling them both away from the hapless victim. The daemon was dragged forcefully against the rough cobblestone floor, a guttural grunt of pain escaping its mouth. She withdrew her arm, already preparing for her next attack.

The blades in her boots now extended, she spun quickly clockwise, her right foot first embedding deep within the daemon's hide before tugging it upwards in its arc. In mid-air, as the creature gave yet another primal cry, she quickly dealt a rapid series of kicks, each of them finding purchase, before finally swinging her wrist-blade horizontally across its form, bisecting it cleanly.

_One daemon down._

She turned toward her next target, the mindless ogre rampaging just barely tens of metres away, heading toward a man, woman and child huddled together on the ground.

Without hesitation, she cut the distance between them, jumping into the air, then spun in a full arc and brought her blade down on his extended arm that was reaching to grab at the man who stood protectively over the other two, shielding them with his trembling body. It sliced through his flesh easily, the limb crashing down onto the ground and sending a wave of disturbed ash and soot scattering into the air.

"Run!" she ordered.

"But -"

"I said _run!" _

Velvet dodged a clumsy attack from the remaining arm of the daemon, his red eyes glaring at her in an expression of pure anger.

"_LET ME EAT!"_

The daemon could talk?

She deftly tumbled aside once more, then balanced her weight on one arm mid-somersault, spinning both feet around quickly to slice at its torso. With the length of the blades concealed in her boots, she couldn't quite cut through the whole length of the daemon, but she could see two deep gouges oozing thick blood carved into his flesh when she completed her manoeuvre to stand on her feet.

"Let them go." She settled firmly into a stance, watching for any misstep by the daemon. The man had dragged his family away, but they were still easily within striking distance.

One move, one single _attempt_ to harm the villagers, and she would show no mercy.

"_I'm so hungry..." _he groaned, glaring hatefully at her as he pressed his sole arm over his wounds. "_If you stand in my way, you DIE!"_

So be it. She pirouetted away from his clumsy charge, then jumped up high into the air, both legs in motion, two kicks aimed at its neck.

"Swallow Dance!"

The blade of her left foot separated head from torso. She spun in a full rotation, her right foot forcefully kicking at the daemon's back. The torso crashed first onto ground, sending another wave of soot and dust outward, his head joining it and rolling away moments later.

For several moments, she stared at the aftermath of her actions. It had to be done, she told herself. The daemon was about to –

"DAMN IT!" the separated head _roared_, its mouth wide open in fury, and even Velvet had to restrain her surprise and shock for a moment, forged and tested in combat as she was. She had _never _seen any creature, human, daemon, or malak, survive _decapitation_ before. "THAT HURT!"

_Yes,_ Kurogane was _technically_ decapitated, but he was also entirely a suit of armour. As far as she was concerned, he didn't count.

The body was beginning to stand, now. Where she had cut its arm off before, a small bud was beginning to grow.

_Regeneration?!_

She took a quick glance behind her, where she had left the bisected wolf-daemon behind. Sure enough, it, too, was beginning to regenerate. Feet were growing from its torso in what would have been a comical fashion were it not for the fact that it was a daemon quickly charging toward her, while its lower half was still running around without any input from its mind.

"You can't kill a demon like that!" One voice cut through the panicked screams that had only grown when her efforts hadn't laid those daemons to rest. "You need a _Nichirin _blade or Wisteria, otherwise it'll continue to regenerate!"

Velvet turned at the sound, and saw a woman with long, flowing black hair, with what appeared to be butterfly ornaments on either side. Though it was well into night time, amidst the flames scorching and spreading around the village, she could see the distinct violet hue of her eyes. She wore a white garment – a _haori, _if she correctly remembered what Rokurou had told her once – patterned with a strange series of intersecting lines that looked almost like a butterfly's wings.

She was shouting, gesturing forcefully at Velvet, although for some reason no one else seemed to be paying her any mind, human or daemon.

"You need to run! Demon Slayers will come soon, you've helped enough!" The woman was still speaking with a tone of obvious frustration. "Ah, but you can't hear me, can you? Come on, just –"

"I can hear you!" Velvet sliced off the limbs of the newly-regenerated wolf once more, and then cut off its head for good measure. Still, though, it continued to move.

"- run away, and -" The woman paused mid-speech, her expression morphing into one of extreme shock. "_Wait, you can hear me?!"_

"Hear, see, whatever!" Velvet grunted, dodging another attack. The damned thing was persistent.

If physical attacks didn't work, then maybe...

"How?!"

Velvet didn't respond immediately, considering her words while she prepared her next attack. She channelled mana into her right arm, a feat made possible only by the fact that she was a daemon – humans could hardly handle the amount of mana she was now suffusing into her limb unless they had a pact with malakhim – and set her blade ablaze.

She condensed the burning energies, took a step back, and then swung her blade in an arc outward, sending the wave of fire out at the ogre who was _still_ regenerating.

"Searing Edge!"

The fire consumed his body, and he howled in agony once more. The growth of the limb bud slowed, and he paused in his assault, frantically patting at the flames licking at him with what he had available, attached or otherwise. Still, though, her arte didn't have any other obvious effect.

She spared some thought to the mysterious woman, who was still standing in the middle of the street, completely flabbergasted. No one else seemed to notice her. In that case, then...

"You're a malak?"

"A what?" the woman asked in turn, confused. "Never mind, that! Listen, you can't kill a demon with anything other than a Nichirin blade, extract from the Wisteria flower, or sunlight!"

"What?" She leapt aside from another attack. At least both daemons were now focused on her, rather than any of the villagers.

"_Who the hell are you talking to?!" _The ogre snapped, its massive arm slamming into the ground once more, only to be sliced off by Velvet. "_You gone mad, girl?"_

Slicing with her blades had failed. Her hidden artes didn't seem to have any effect, physical or elemental.

That left her the one option she really didn't want to make use of. It was a slippery slope, one that had made her into the Lord of Calamity, but she saw no other option.

Her therion arm burst out with a loud and unnerving _squelch_, and even the _daemons_ seemed to be taken aback at that.

"What the – _You're a demon_?!" She heard the woman shout. "Why -"

Before she could finish her sentence, Velvet's claw slashed across the ogre's body, and began to do what it did best.

_Consume. Devour._

His eyes grew wide with fright and terror. Its limbs, separated though they were, began to dissipate into vapour, the malevolence within siphoned into her daemonic arm.

"Wait... _wait!" _the daemon cried out, struggling as it grasped fruitlessly at her arm. "_Stop!"_

She didn't let up. Malevolence continued flowing into her pulsating limb, and as it had always done when she fought and devoured daemons, the distinctly _human_ body that had been a daemon was left behind on the ground.

"_Wha..."_ The man who had been an ogre daemon gave a choked gasp. "_I don't – what's – " _Weakly, he looked around confused, before what seemed to be clarity hit him.

"_I became... a demon..." _He stared up into the night sky, the crimson moon still hanging proudly overhead. "_I'm... sorry... everyone..."_

Malevolence and flesh were both consumed, his material body fading into her arm with each passing instant. Quieter than the burning fires around the street, the last words of the daemon – no, the _human – _were heard.

"_I'm... sorry..." _

Velvet frowned. Daemons occasionally reverted into humans after being eaten by her claw, but she had _never_ heard one speak in its dying moments before. The bodies of daemons generated and was sustained by malevolence, and her therion claw fed upon both, as she was profoundly aware of. Feeding on one without the other was as impossible as separating salt from seawater with nothing but her bare hands.

For an instant, even the wolf-daemon seemed stunned, staring at the spot that the ogre had occupied.

Then, it rushed again toward her, blind with rage.

Another swipe of her claws, and that daemon, too, was finished.

"_I... remember..."_

In its place, now, was a quietly sobbing young boy, his body slowly vanishing. He couldn't have been older than twelve.

She didn't see the boy. In his place, she only saw –

_Laphicet. Kamoana. _

He was young, too young to have ever had truly experienced life, and she had just taken that away from him.

"You're just a boy..." Stunned, she deactivated her therion arm. Still, his very _essence_ continued flowing into her, never once ceasing. "No - wait –"

"_Thank... you... lady..."_

His words drifted in the wind, soon to be lost in the aftermath of the rampage of the two daemons.

No, not two, she corrected herself. _Three._ She had been a part of this just as much as them.

Those that had remained stood there in a reverent silence, as the last echoes of the boy faded into nothingness.

For an instant, there was dead silence, broken only by the crackling fires. There didn't seem to be any more daemons about.

"_Please..."_ One man was down on his hands and knees, head pressed against the ground. "Spare us!"

_What –_

A few others had caught on, repeating the same gesture. The enigmatic woman who she _thought_ was likely a malak was now looking at her with a guarded expression, betraying no emotion in the aftermath of her having literally _consumed_ a daemon.

Come to think of it, why would the malak have thought that daemons could only be killed by whatever this _Nichirin_ was, or by Wisteria, or sunlight?

That made no sense to her. She was just as vulnerable any human, and had it not been for Phi's healing artes she would have died many times over in the past.

"Go put out the fires!" she ordered. Still, they continued trembling, lifting their heads slightly to look at her, eyes filled with fear. "Go!" she repeated more harshly.

That set them into motion. They began organising themselves, rushing about, grabbing buckets of water where they could to quench the flames.

Of course, they didn't seem to make any attempt to hide the obvious furtive glances they shot at Velvet before immediately snapping back to the task at hand whenever she caught their eyes.

She didn't pay them any further mind. She'd become numb to reactions like those after everything she had done in her personal crusade against Artorius and the Abbey.

She turned to stare at the malak woman. "We need to talk."

That, understandably, led to mixed confusion and fear among the scampering villagers. Before the Advent, she had much the same reaction every time Arthur appeared to be talking to empty air.

Slowly, the woman nodded. She glanced once around the village – probably making sure that everything was in control – before gesturing off to one corner.

Far enough away to not be overheard. Good enough, Velvet supposed. She began to move away from the villagers. When at last Velvet was satisfied that they were out of sight and out of earshot, Velvet nodded, and the woman began to speak.

"You're a demon." It was a statement, spoken without a single shred of uncertainty. "You're a demon, but you saved those humans."

"Mmhmm," she hummed in agreement. "And you're a malak."

"What's a malak?"

Velvet frowned. She hadn't ever met any malakhim who didn't know what they were. But if she wasn't a malak, what else _could_ she be? From all the contextual clues she'd gleamed thus far, it seemed that no one else could see or hear her.

Still, though, it didn't fit with the fact that she didn't seem capable of interacting with the world around her. Velvet's closest approximation would be that she was a malak who hadn't yet come to terms with her power, but surely she would be able to at least have some sort of physical interaction with the world?

"Who are you?" Velvet asked instead.

"Oh! Pardon my rudeness!" She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand daintily. She gave a slight bow, much to Velvet's confusion. "Kanae Kocho. And you are…"

She trailed off. Kanae, then? Velvet considered her question. If she really _was _a malak, there really wasn't much of a chance she could communicate with non-resonant people.

"Velvet," she acquiesced. "If not a malak, what _are _you?"

"I'm human," Kanae said simply. "Well, _was_ human, I suppose. I died in battle against a demon of the Upper Moon a few years ago."

_Upper Moon? _What did that mean?

More importantly, though…

"You're a reincarnated malak?"

As far as Velvet understood Eizen's explanation, that was exceedingly rare. Sure, Celica and her unborn son had both become malakhim after their deaths, but it had also been the day of the Opening and the partial resurrection of Innominat.

"I don't know what a malak _is," _she confessed. "But you – just to confirm: you're a demon?"

Velvet nodded again. Demon or daemon, they were the same, probably.

"But you saved those people."

She didn't bother nodding, simply continuing to stare at the mysterious 'Kanae'. The sooner she got to her point, the better.

"Why?"

"Should I not have?" she shot back.

"But you're a _demon," _she said slowly, drawing out the word. "I've not met a demon like you before."

"These people haven't done anything to me." Velvet shrugged.

For a moment, Kanae seemed stunned. Then –

"But that's amazing! I've always dreamed of humans and demons coexisting peacefully!" she gushed loudly, grasping at Velvet's hands, her eyes only widening further when she made solid contact. "What – I can _touch you?"_

"Is that surprising?"

"I haven't been able to interact with _anything _since I died!" The words flowed rapidly with obvious excitement. "A demon that doesn't eat humans, and now _this – _is this really true?"

"Make no mistake – if anyone tried attacking me or got in my way – daemon, exorcist or malak – I would retaliate without hesitation."

"_Exorcist_?" Kanae asked, confused. "You mean Demon Slayers?"

"You mentioned that, earlier," Velvet said, remembering what she'd said during the fight. "That, and something about _Ichirin blades_ –"

"_Nichirin."_

"Nichirin," Velvet corrected. "And wisteria, and sunlight?"

"The Demon Slayer Corps exist to protect humanity from demons. We have fought against them for centuries, unrecognised by the government," she replied. "And for your other question – those are the only known ways of killing demons." She tilted her head slightly to the side, curious. "Do you not know of us?"

Hmm. For a self-professed _Demon Slayer_, she was being oddly candid with Velvet.

Then again, by her own claims, she hadn't been able to so much as talk to anyone since her death. Speaking to Velvet now must be a refreshing change.

Still, though. It wasn't difficult drawing obvious parallels to the Abbey and exorcists, although unlike these Demon Slayers, they were for all intents and purposes the governing body of the Holy Midgand Empire. This organisation seemed just as bent on purging the land of demons.

Speaking of…

"Where are we, anyway?"

"You don't know?" Kanae asked curiously.

"I come from far away," Velvet deflected.

"Hmm," she hummed for a moment, then answered her question. "I don't know the exact name of the village, since I've rushed here only when the commotion began, but we're about a hundred kilometres north of Tokyo. Natagumo Mountain is just over there."

She pointed, and Velvet could see the aforementioned mountain range in the distance against the still blood-red sky.

The names of those landmarks, of course, meant nothing to Velvet.

"Does the place Midgand mean anything to you?"

Kanae shook her head.

"Loegres? Hallawes? Endgand?" She tried cities and continents, but no recognition set in. "Desolation?"

Still, Kanae remained confused. That wasn't good.

There was a slim chance that perhaps, just perhaps, she'd been sealed with Innominat for long enough that the entire world had changed, but the more likely scenario was something just as outlandish.

Could she actually be in _another world_? Some things would fit there, such as the nigh unkillable daemons she'd fought, and how Kanae seemed to be both malak and not.

"Velvet?" Abruptly, Kanae's voice cut through her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

She didn't reply immediately, carefully studying the (possible) malak as she thought over her situation. Velvet could tell some things to her, and receive information in turn, but there was always the risk of information getting into the hands of potential enemies.

By her account, though, Kanae _hadn't _been able to speak to anyone.

"You said you couldn't talk to anyone. Does that include these _Demon Slayers_ as well?"

"I've tried," she admitted readily, slightly downcast. "No one was ever able to see or hear me. You're the first one, Velvet."

She studied her carefully. There didn't seem to be any deception on her part. It would be risky walking down this road, but if her theory was true that this was, indeed, not Desolation, she would need all the help she could get to orientate herself.

Ah, well. It wasn't as though she was a stranger to risk. Artorius has always so loved to berate her for being led by her emotions each time they crossed swords.

She was the captain of her own ship, right?

Phi's and Eizen's influence had really rubbed off on her more than she thought.

"Let's make a deal, Kanae," she said slowly. Immediately, the malak looked at her with complete attention. "I'm willing to tell you a little about myself, and some things that might help you. In exchange, you tell me about –"

"Deal."

Velvet blinked, as Kanae smiled serenely in front of her. "I haven't finished."

"I would have told you what you wanted to know if I'm able to help, even if you didn't offer any information in return," she replied easily. "You're a demon who _doesn't eat humans_. You're able to see and hear me, and even make contact with me. That alone, I think, is deserving of some trust on my part."

She was far too easily trusting, Velvet thought. One part of her, the half that had guided her every step in her quest for revenge, was coldly figuring out how to use that to her advantage. She tried to ignore those traitorous thoughts, but it was as much a part of her as the arm she had obtained since the night of the Advent.

Kanae continued looking at her, seemingly oblivious to her innermost thoughts, waiting patiently for her to begin asking her questions.

Very well, then.

With that, she began to attempt to get a sense of this world she had awoken into just scarcely an hour ago.

-o-o-o-

"You come from another world."

Velvet nodded.

"You're a demon – what, a _therion_, was it?"

Velvet nodded.

"You're telling me that demons are born of 'malevolence', that any human, animal, creature or even _object_ can become a demon if they bear too much of this malevolence."

Velvet nodded.

"And you think that I'm a malak – some sort of spiritual being that can only be seen and felt by people possessing enough of this 'resonance' thing?"

Ah. She shook her head.

"Malakhim are able to interact with others regardless of whether or not they can be perceived. I'm not sure why you can't touch anyone other than myself, although it _could _be possible that there isn't enough ambient mana in this world, or that somehow my domain is empowering you in some way."

"Domain? Mana?"

"Think of a domain as a field of some sort," Velvet gestured, frustrated. "I'm not good with the details – my friends were always the ones who knew about things like this. More importantly, sufficiently powerful beings could empower others with their very presence, boosting their resonance and enabling them to perform artes they otherwise couldn't."

_Come to think of it…_

"Now that you mention domains, it's odd that humans here can see demons but not malakhim." Velvet frowned in consideration. That was indeed the case after the Opening but prior to the Advent, so maybe… "It is possible that humans of this world possess enough resonance to see demons, but not enough to perceive malakhim, but…"

It didn't fully make sense, though. Now that she knew the full details behind the two events, the Opening had resulted in the partial resurrection of Innominat while the Advent had completed the process, explaining just how that had occurred. Was this feature then just a natural occurrence of this world, or could there be an Empyrean somewhere in this world, dormant or otherwise?

"I still can't believe that you come from another _world," _Kanae gushed. "Is that even possible?"

"It's just a theory," she said tiredly. "Besides, I'm surprised when you say that demons are only born by the actions of this Kibutsuji person. The demons in that village were definitely transformed by the malevolence being generated, along with the increased susceptibility during a Scarlet Night."

"I've never seen the moon like this before, and I don't know of any demons forming without _his _twisted intervention." For someone who seemed kind and demure, she was certainly able to twist the word with vitriol. "We've existed for centuries, but none of our records have ever mentioned anything like this."

Kanae gestured toward the village, the situation now almost fully resolved. Velvet saw some injured among them, whether by fires, demons or debris, but there hadn't been any deaths as far as she could tell.

Luckily for them that she arrived when she did, then. She had no doubt the village would have been utterly decimated if she hadn't intervened by consuming the malevolence in the air. Other villages probably wouldn't be as lucky, if malevolence reached a tipping point to enable the self-propagating cycle of transformation. Fear and despair fed upon themselves.

There was a reason why it had been thought to be caused by _daemonblight_, after all.

Hmm. She should probably leave soon. Those villagers looked like they were torn between approaching her and staying away from the big bad demon.

She considered the situation a bit more carefully. It probably wasn't a coincidence that she somehow arrived in this world precisely on a Scarlet Night. The question, then, was –

"You look deep in thought," Kanae noted, leaning against the trunk of a tree where they had secluded themselves off. "Something the matter?"

"Kanae," she began slowly. "It's possible that my presence is what caused this Scarlet Night. If so, then…"

She trailed off. Her message didn't need to be said aloud.

_The blood of all the villagers that died from spontaneous transformation of demons would be on her hands._

_Their transformation was born of individual choice. _They_ generated their own malevolence_. Part of her argued.

_It wouldn't have happened without the Scarlet Night, _she shot back. _And it seems fully possible that I caused it –_

Suddenly, Velvet was aware of Kanae placing her palm firmly on her shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"It's also possible that you arrived _because_ it's a 'Scarlet Night', isn't it?" Kanae countered. Before she could retort, she continued. "You mentioned this 'earthpulse' in your explanation about the Scarlet Night earlier. Isn't it reasonable to think that you moved through this flow of energy somehow, and arrived here when you did?"

That was plausible, since the structure above the Empyrean's Throne she had been in was in essence Innominat's body and therefore part of the earthpulse, but…

"Traveling through the earthpulse usually requires rifts or portals of some sort, and even then, you need a knowledge of the formulae for the artes used for such purposes," Velvet argued hotly. "Hell, I'm not even supposed to be awake –"

She cursed silently. She'd revealed a little too much, there. Though she wasn't ashamed of what she had done in her quest for vengeance, she doubted that those of this world would see things as kindly.

"_Awake_?" Kanae repeated curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Never mind that," she said with finality, putting that line of questioning to a halt. Kanae looked reluctant, but didn't argue. "More importantly, you don't know if my presence here in this world caused all of this mess."

_Fitting, for the Lord of Calamity_.

She wouldn't be surprised if Kanae demanded that she leave this world at once, from what she knew of Demon Slayers. Possibly even try to attack her herself –

"Maybe." Kanae shrugged. "Just as likely, though, is the possibility that you could _also_ be here to fix this."

Velvet blinked, surprised. Kanae continued speaking.

"Whether you caused this or not doesn't matter, to me at least. You saved these people tonight." She pointed in the direction of the village. The fires seemed to have all been put out, now. "We could argue forever on all the 'what if's, but I know for a fact that they would have died if not for you. You're a good person."

She glared at her, daring her to argue.

_Great, one of those types that always sees the good in people_.

Velvet had plenty of experience dealing with them, after having travelled with Phi and Eleanor in her party. Trying to change their optimistic worldview was nigh impossible.

"I'm not who you think I am," Velvet sighed tiredly, then activated her claw for good measure. She stared at the crimson limb with all its jagged, serrated edges, a part so familiar and yet foreign to her. She spoke without looking at Kanae. "I'm a _daemon_. A therion. A monster. I've killed people, innocent or guilty."

She saw those memories again. Oscar and Teresa. She killed him before his sister's very eyes.

She became the very thing she swore to end.

"I'm sure you had your reasons –"

"I don't!" she snapped, the pulsing malevolence elevating for an instant. She winced as Kanae stepped backward, startled, before returning her therion arm to its normal state, containing her domain once more. "I killed people, Kanae. Entire lives ruined by my hand, all for the sake of revenge. Isn't the creed of your organisation to kill demons without question?"

For an instant, they were both silent.

"Then do better," Kanae finally said simply. "All my life – and now death – I've _never _met a demon who chose not to feed on humans as you do. I've just met you, but I _know _you're a good person at heart. The fact that you're aware of what you've done is proof of that. I truly think that you're hope that one day demons and humans could coexist together in harmony."

Again, there was silence. Velvet just stared at her, Kanae's eyes full of burning sincerity.

"You're one of those that see the good in people all the time, huh?" Velvet sighed. Even in this world, people like Phi existed.

For someone who was supposed to be among the best of the best of the Demon Slayers, if these 'Hashira' could be likened to the legates of the Abbey, Kanae really didn't quite fit the mould. Most exorcists she knew hated all daemons with a passion, without compromise. Even Eleanor had much the same view before she had forced her into their party.

Kanae nodded unashamedly. "Yup!"

"There's no convincing you otherwise?"

"Of course!"

"And I suppose you'll be sticking around, then?"

"I don't have anyone else to talk to, do I?"

Velvet sighed. She was doing a lot of that. Soon, she might even become like Grimoirh if she kept that up.

Still, if a purported malak would be around her, she needed to be warned of the possible complications.

"You'll want to keep your distance, especially when I unleash my arm," she warned. "If you take in too much of my malevolence as a malak, you'll transform into a dragon."

"I know, I know. You warned me of that already." Kanae waved her hands in dismissal. "Besides, if I stick with you, there's a chance that exposure to your 'domain' could eventually allow me to use these 'malak artes' you mentioned, if I understood it right."

"I guess?" Velvet shrugged. "I really don't know the details. Magilou and Eizen were the experts in this."

"Magilou and Eizen, huh? Friends of yours?"

She nodded. "Two of the best anyone could ask for."

She would never admit that to Magilou, of course. The witch would never shut up about it if she caught word of that.

"Speaking of artes, you mentioned that you were a Hashira," Velvet spoke. "How formidable would one of those be, exactly?"

"Hmmm…" Kanae hummed in consideration, then looked at Velvet with a teasing glint in her eyes. "Care to find out?"

With that, right as Velvet processed what she said, she dashed off away from the village, laughing all the while.

_Fast. _Certainly comparable to many of the most formidable opponents she fought. But if she thought Velvet would back down from this challenge, well…

Oh, it was on.

She sprinted in the direction her new acquaintance – possibly friend, if things continued in this way – had gone, and saw how Kanae's eyes widened first with mirth, and then a competitive spark as Velvet proved capable of matching her in speed.

"Race you!" Kanae shouted gleefully, putting on even more speed.

_Oh for the love of –_

She moved her legs faster, leaping and bounding to catch up to Kanae. Velvet thought that she would be seeing quite some interesting days ahead.

The Lord of Calamity from the world of Desolation, and a dead former Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps turned possible malak, cooperating together. Who could have ever seen that coming?

-o-o-o-

He stood silently in his fortress of ever-shifting walls, deep in thought. The news he'd just received was troubling, indeed.

He had been alive for more than a millennium. Never before had he seen the moon turn red as it currently was, just outside of his dimensional fortress.

Just what did that symbolise? Did it signify the blood about to be shed by humanity when his plans came to fruition? Was this a divine sign of some sort? Did the blood-moon represent him overcoming his sole weakness of accursed sunlight?

Then there was the other matter. He had received reports of demons being born _without _his blood.

He had, of course, immediately moved to verify the matter. When it was corroborated as fact by independent parties, and then confirmed that none of his Upper Moons had used their own blood to generate new demons, he didn't quite know what to make of the matter.

How _could_ they have been born? As far as he knew, only he and the most exceptionally powerful demons gifted with his blood were capable of transforming humans into demons. The fact that he couldn't sense their presence, communicate with them, or make use of their senses as he could with all his demons suggested that they weren't made with _his_ blood.

There was a possibility, however slim, that the damned doctor had experimented his 'cure' on others before him.

If so, then there lay _opportunity._ If this demon had received the Blue Spider Lily and managed to overcome the power of sunlight, then perhaps they may be open to cooperation. He was a reasonable man, after all, and there were many things one such as himself could offer for information on the Blue Spider Lily.

He would, of course, kill this demon afterward. He would not allow his authority to be challenged.

Still, it seemed unlikely. What were the chances that a demon would have stayed inactive for possibly over a thousand years, only to suddenly re-emerge on the same day of the blood-moon?

Were the two correlated? Was the formation of new demons somehow related to this divine sign?

Did it mean he would finally be able to destroy that ragtag organisation of so-called Demon Slayers once and for all?

He had so many questions, but none of the answers.

Muzan Kibutsuji _hated _uncertainty.

There was a strum of the biwa, and the walls around him shifted once more.

He raised a hand. There was no more point in brooding.

Another note, and Nakime appeared before him, utterly silent, awaiting his orders. She was certainly one of his more capable creations.

Words were not necessary. His _intent_ was more than enough.

_Gather information on the blood-moon. Study these new demons._

Within moments, all the demons under his command would know of their new orders. They would follow through with them without question.

If they didn't, he would kill them without hesitation. His underlings were easily replaceable.

-o-o-o-

Kagaya Ubuyashiki stood before the window, staring intently at the crimson moon in the distance. It had risen to its zenith a few hours ago, and soon it would set into daybreak.

He was blind, of course, but he had been told that the moon had turned red.

It seemed to be an ill omen at first glance. Shortly after dusk had set in, the first of the Kasugai crows had flown by with reports of scattered incidents of strange behaviour of people in different villages.

Soon after, that had been amended to reports of _demons_ running rampant in villages all across the country. He had immediately sent for Demon Slayers to combat the threat, praying all the while that none of his precious children would lose their lives in the fighting.

Thankfully, those demons weren't as capable as those that had matured over centuries and consumed vast amounts of human flesh and blood. No Demon Slayers had perished that night, although several villages lost members of their own before help could arrive. Children had lost fathers; mothers had lost sons. Though the Demon Slayer Corps hadn't been affected, it still pained him that such devastation had occurred.

There had been nine incidents reported. Five had been dealt with quickly, before anyone perished. Two had several casualties. One village had been completely annihilated by the time the closest Demon Slayer could arrive.

It was the _last _incident that he was most curious about, however. There hadn't been anyone killed save the demons themselves, but what was intriguing was that it wasn't one of his own that had saved the village.

More interesting was the fact that when his assigned Demon Slayers had reached the town, all of the villagers had made mention of being saved by a 'Demon Girl with the Red Hand'. And if that wasn't enough, some who were still within the village when help arrived had adamantly claimed that for several moments, the demons had reverted back into humans, before disappearing into dust. When asked about the whereabouts of this Demon Girl, they had simply said that she was talking to herself for a long time, then took off all of a sudden, running 'as fast as the wind' into the distance.

Kagaya didn't know whether or not this saviour truly was a demon. Did it really matter? If she was one, then there was proof that there were some demons, much like Tamayo, who had escaped from Kibutsuji's control. Perhaps she could provide assistance in the good doctor's venture of providing a cure to the demon affliction, if ever they managed to meet.

It was bold of this new demon to make such open moves, though. Tamayo remained in hiding for a reason. He had no doubt that Kibutsuji would be searching for her once word reached his ears.

It seemed odd that Kibutsuji would have planned simultaneous transformations of people into demons across the country, especially when there simply wasn't any objective for him that Kagaya could discern. If he sought for a misdirection, then the incident still ongoing at Natagumo Mountain would be more than sufficient. He would need to send for more reinforcements there soon, after having received initial reports of some of his children having perished or disappeared after being assigned to that mission.

His heart ached at the thought. Each and every death that occurred was one he wouldn't soon forget.

How did Kibutsuji factor in all of this? Was he even responsible for everything that had transpired this night? There were too many questions, and too little answers.

He would need to be on the lookout for more information about this Demon Girl, but he couldn't abandon his other duties. First and foremost, the Demon Slayer Corps existed to protect humanity from the demon threat, and the demons dwelling in Natagumo Mountain took priority.

He called for a Kasugai crow, assigning new orders to Demon Slayers in the vicinity. Kamado Tanjiro, Hashibara Inosuke, and Akatsuma Zenitsu would have their mettle tested sooner than he thought. He dearly hoped they would succeed in their task.

The crimson moon. The Demon Girl. Kibutsuji Muzan. Demon transformations.

What did it all mean?


	2. Chapter 2

**To be clear: Velvet isn't going to be the level 200 OP powerhouse that she is in game, since power scaling in gameplay terms already makes little narrative sense as it is. She will be leagues above just about everyone, but she won't be having a punch-out with the gods any time soon. Much like everyone else in both series, she has her own strengths and weaknesses.**

**Demons and Demon Slayers will be stronger compared to their canon versions through subplots later on, but as of now I'm not putting Innominat in the story. On his own, he makes for a weak antagonist narratively (his use in the plot was mostly for the power he brought to further Artorius' ideals, rather than any personal motvations).  
**

**If you don't like it, I'd suggest you drop it before the chapter starts to avoid disappointment.**

* * *

"I still don't understand how you can walk about in bright daylight."

"You do realise that from my perspective, it's your demons that make no sense, right?"

Velvet turned to face the ever-fascinated Kanae, who had her arms folded behind her head as she trudged alongside Velvet, looking intently at her bandaged arm. After the impromptu competition of speed between the pair, they had settled down to rest in a forest clearing that Kanae had previously explored while roaming about after resurrecting from her death as a malak.

Much like the malakhim she was used to, Kanae didn't require food for sustenance. Unlike them, however, she couldn't physically interact with the food, and was deprived of the joys of taste.

To the former Hashira's surprise, and immense joy, Velvet had somehow proven capable of handing the wild fruit to her, enabling her to truly eat for the first time since her death.

Of course, she had immediately proclaimed that she would never leave Velvet's side after that. Velvet didn't know what to feel about that.

"How does the bandage stay on, anyway?" Kanae stepped closer, inspecting it carefully. "Doesn't it burst open once you activate your arm?"

"It just does." Velvet sighed. Dealing with the Flower Hashira was quickly becoming troublesome. "_Please_ don't ask any more questions about that."

"Fine, fine," she pouted. "On a serious note, then: did you notice any difference between the demons you fought last night and those of your world?"

That _was_ a good question. Velvet took the time to ponder on the issue with more thought.

"On the surface, my claw consumed both malevolence and their physical bodies, just as I'm used to. In that regard, it seems that malevolence sustains the transformation once it's completed, at the very least," she considered. "What was odd was how resilient those demons seemed to be. I definitely can't regenerate like them. There's also the matter of how they seemed to regain their humanity for a few seconds before becoming fully consumed."

"I wanted to ask you about that, actually. Can you turn demons back into humans?" Kanae asked, a hint of excitement in her voice.

Unfortunately for her, Velvet couldn't do what she desperately hoped for.

"No." Kanae's eyes turned downcast for a brief moment. "I can't separate the malevolence from their bodies, and even if I _could_, it's likely that the malevolence being produced by the demon's bodies would simply cause the transformation to occur again. By the time I consume enough malevolence that they revert to a human's body, the damage dealt to them would already be fatal."

"So it's impossible, then?" Kanae asked glumly.

_Phi could._ His silver flames had purged his own malevolence when attacked by Innominat.

There wasn't a reason to tell her of that, however. Even if Kanae was a malak, she didn't seem to possess any malak artes at present, much less one as potent as what Phi had demonstrated. Besides, even if she _could_, there was no way she could form a pact with Velvet, since her soul was as damned as it got. From what she understood, she had never come across another resonant individual, and as such would be unlikely to ever find a pure vessel.

"For me, at least. Sorry to disappoint."

"Oh! I meant no offense!" Kanae quickly shook her head rapidly in apology.

Honestly, Velvet didn't quite know what to make of her. How could someone like her have been part of an organisation that seemed so much like the Abbey, much less risen up the ranks to the utmost highest level?

"_Aaanyway," _Kanae said, switching the topic. "What are your plans for today, anyway?"

Velvet didn't know how to honestly answer that question. For so long, her only objective had been killing Artorius. That later changed into killing Artorius, and stopping Innominat. Everything else that hadn't factored into those goals had seemed so utterly pointless.

Now, though, she didn't know what to _do_. She wanted to make amends for everything she had done, but was she even truly capable of that?

"I don't know."

"Hmm…" Kanae pondered, not at all bothered by her companion's lack of concrete plans. "How about some delicious food? I bet that your world has different tastes compared to Japan."

_Food, huh_?

In her dreams when sealed with Innominat, she had finally been able to regain her taste once more. She had sampled so much of her sister's cooking, and then even those made by her own hands. Now, though, when faced with the reality of who she was…

"Is something wrong?" Kanae's worried voice reached her ears.

"No," she said, belatedly realising she'd paused in mid-step. Damn. Her instincts must have dulled after such a long period of dreaming of the ideal life she had always wanted with Laphi. "I just can't taste."

"You can't _taste_?" Kanae gasped.

"All I can taste is blood, all the time," she corrected factually. There wasn't much point holding back information like this. "Besides, food doesn't fill my hunger at all."

_Always hungry. _She had been ravenous for all those years locked in Titania, never at all feeling a sense of satiety no matter how many daemons were fed to her. Over the years, she eventually learned to live with that feeling.

"Velvet…" Kanae said worriedly.

"Don't worry. It doesn't bother me in the slightest," she said honestly. "I could cook something for you if you wanted, though. Can't be easy going without food for so long with an intact sense of taste."

"I – I couldn't!" Kanae immediately denied. "It would be rude for me to make such a request of you!"

Her stomach betrayed her, growling immediately. Velvet raised a single eyebrow, smirking as her new companion tried to deny that ever happening.

She remembered how Phi had always wolfed down her cooking. When she fell unconscious for three days on board the Van Eltia, he hadn't eaten a thing in some silly display of support for her.

She smiled fondly at the memory. Phi truly was the purest and kindest soul there was.

If only the seven of them could have stayed together after everything had been concluded.

Yes, she included Bienfu among them, even if the normin malak was at times an utter annoyance.

"I'll cook you something," Velvet said. She wasn't sure whether or not prickleboars existed here, but she was pretty sure she had seen some wild boars or pigs roaming about earlier. Preparing prickleboar sausage out on the road was something she had much experience with, after all the time she had spent with her companions.

"I can't –" Kanae's stomach gave another protest. Her face reddened, and she reluctantly agreed. "Fine…"

Velvet snorted. Was this just a theme for people like Phi and Kanae, who didn't seem to have a shred of evil in them?

"We'll hunt for a boar or two, then. I'm pretty sure I have some spices in my pack." She rummaged around the few pouches by her waist. Surprisingly, they carried much the same items she had at the time she confronted Artorius and Innominat, even if the rest of her attire was now somehow what she wore in the dream.

Perhaps it was best not to dwell on such matters. She had enough mysteries on her hand as things were.

Hmm. Spices, a few spare gels, an assortment of panacea bottles and other miscellaneous items that they hadn't expended in their pursuit up to the summit of the Empyrean's Throne. Those would be useful in the coming days.

Come to think of it, she really should get to preparing more gels. If there weren't shops around that stocked them, there wasn't really any other choice, since Phi wasn't around with his healing artes to patch her up. Luckily for her, Celica had taught her how to make them years ago.

"Right, then! We'll prepare lunch! Afterwards, I'll bring you sightseeing in return!" Kanae declared. "No objections! The view from Natagumo Mountain should be beautiful at this time of year!"

"That's the one in the distance, right?" Velvet pointed. "We could probably reach the base by nightfall, and then rest to climb up tomorrow at a leisurely pace."

"Sounds like a plan," Kanae agreed. Thank the Empyreans that she wasn't about to compete in another race again. It had been a fun challenge the first time, but repeating that sounded like it was going to be tiringly annoying. "Onward! Boars await!"

She extended her arm out, pointing in the direction of the nearby forest. Kanae's excitement really didn't suit her appearance.

"…how old are you, again?"

"Nineteen," she replied, unashamed. "Why? What about you?"

… how was it even possible that they were both the same age?

"Let's just get moving," Velvet groaned, moving away from the path they had been taking. Hunt a few boars, start a fire, begin cooking, then head off toward the mountain range in the distance. Sounded easy enough.

"Come on! I'm hungry! I bet your cooking is fantastic!"

Hadn't she been attempting to deny her hunger just moments ago?

Velvet shook her head. Her new companion seemed to be more like Phi with each passing moment. Hopeful, innocent, and if her title was to be believed, a complete powerhouse in combat that belied her outward appearance.

-o-o-o-

"Alright! We're here!"

Velvet stared upward from where she stood, the first of many sloping paths in the forested mountain greeting her as far as the eye could see. True enough, they had managed to reach the base of the mountain just after dusk had set in.

"This here, my dear Velvet, is the wonder known as Natagumo Mountain!" Kanae gestured grandly behind her. "In the light of day, you'll see just why its beauty is so renowned among the locals in the region."

Hmm. All she could see were trees with some flowers scattered in the foliage, but then again it was getting dark. Perhaps it was a grander sight in the afternoon.

Regardless, she doubted it could hold up to the vast landscape and tall mountains of the Albina Plains. Now _that _was a truly breath-taking sight.

"It's okay," Velvet said, shrugging.

"You're hard to please, aren't you?" Kanae sighed in exasperation. "Well, we're here anyway. What should we do now?"

"We might as well find a place to rest for the night nearby, and make our way up the mountain in the morning," Velvet reasoned. "Since we're here already, it makes sense to head up during the day."

"Sounds like a plan. How about we head back to the village we passed by earlier?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Velvet raised her obscured arm pointedly. "_Therion, _remember?"

Kanae shrugged. "As long as you don't let your arm loose out in the open, it's highly unlikely anyone would think that you're a demon. You look just as human as me."

"You're a malak."

"Semantics," she scoffed. "You don't know if I'm one, anyway."

"I'd like to think I look more like a malak than a ghost, as you've brilliantly suggested before," Velvet snarked.

"A _human_ ghost," Kanae stressed. "There's a difference."

"Trust me, I've fought ghosts before."

"Wait, ghosts _exist_?" The former Hashira's tone abruptly shifted into surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. They're really annoying buggers," Velvet informed her, her voice slightly tinged with agitation. "They swarm you in groups and overwhelm you with artes."

"You're really full of surprises, aren't you?" Kanae shook her head. "I can't believe I've only met you last night. One day with you has been more eventful than the past few years since my death."

"If you think _I'm_ bad, you should see Eizen." Velvet smirked slightly at the memory of just how much trouble he had been plagued with, courtesy of his Reaper's Curse. "You won't go a few hours without suffering at least a minor annoyance."

"You sure keep colourful company."

"Comes with the title."

"What title?" Kanae asked, curious.

Damn. She'd gotten so used to talking to the malak, she had completely forgotten just how much information she had wanted to keep hidden from her companion. Being the _Lord of Calamity_ wasn't something she wanted Kanae to know about.

"Forget about that," she deflected, turning around. "Anyway, we should head back. It's going to be a slight trek –"

A rustle of leaves from the direction of the mountain caught their attention. Moments later, black shapes escaped from the dense canopy, accompanied by the sound of cawing crows.

"Velvet."

Kanae's voice instantly turned completely serious, the same one she had addressed Velvet with during their meeting after she had first demonstrated her therion powers. She matched the malak's seriousness, regarding her intently.

"Those are Kasugai crows," Kanae said, her eyes focused, tracking the birds in flight. "The Demon Slayer Corps uses them for communication."

She caught on instantly. A routine update of information would hardly require the use of that many crows.

"You think there's trouble ahead," she stated factually.

"Most likely." Kanae nodded grimly. "I know you don't have any obligation to us Demon Slayers, but –"

She didn't need to speak further. Velvet knew perfectly well what she was about to ask of her.

"Got it," Velvet interrupted. "Let's proceed, then."

"Thank you."

There was no mistaking the sincerity in her voice. They nodded at each other, then proceeded silently into the forested slopes of the mountain.

Velvet had to admit, despite how she looked, Kanae certainly knew her stuff well. She kept chatter to a minimum, constantly keeping on the lookout, without sacrificing on speed as they made their way deeper into the trees. It spoke volumes of her experience.

She wondered, though, whether the malak had forgotten that no one else could hear her. Sometimes routine habits could be just far too ingrained.

Well, perhaps it was for the best that she did that. There was always the slightest of chances that a potential enemy could possess strong enough resonance as well to perceive the malak's presence.

Quietly, they darted through the trees, trying to make their way toward the direction where they had seen the crows escape the treeline. They weren't moving at their top speed, but they were keeping to a reasonable pace.

Then, Velvet heard the sound of shuffling footsteps. Immediately, she halted in her tracks.

At the same time, by her side, Kanae did likewise. The pair stood completely still, each pressed against a tree-trunk, peeking in the direction the sounds came from.

There was a single girl, wearing the same Demon Slayer uniform that Kanae had on her, although without the haori she wore. Her movements were stiff, shuffling unsteadily, very noticeably uncoordinated. There was blood lining the side of her face, several cuts and gashes along her body, but it was her _eyes _that caught Velvet's attention. They were wide, filled with sheer terror, and in what little moonlight pierced through the canopy she could faintly see the faint reflection from tears in her eyes.

"A Mizunoto," Kanae whispered into her ear. "Something's wrong…"

Velvet nodded, not daring to speak, lest she was heard. She needed to observe the situation, first.

_Plans must be solid, and reactions flexible. _

The novice Demon Slayer continued in her shuffling steps, her feet dragging and catching against the floor multiple times, yet never falling down. Soon, Velvet heard other such sounds coming from other directions deeper in the trees.

Quietly, carefully, she and Kanae repositioned to a better vantage point, up on the thick branches of the nearby trees, shrouded from sight. They saw others wearing similarly unkempt uniforms, all of them in an injured state, moving in the same slow, trudging and clumsy motion.

"_This is awful_…" Kanae exhaled softly beside her.

It was almost as though…

She narrowed her eyes. Just under the moonlight, from this angle, she could see the faintest, thinnest silvery lines attached from the trees toward the bodies of the Demon Slayers.

_They're being controlled._

Kanae noticed at the same time as her, pointing toward the many lines wrapped around their limbs and bodies. Slowly, Velvet nodded.

She couldn't intervene just yet, though. They needed more information –

There was the sound of the clashing of steel some distance away, on the outskirts of the forest, but in a different direction from where she and Kanae came from. As one, the horde of controlled Demon Slayers turned in that direction at the same time, and began to move as a unit.

Damn. They weren't the only ones here.

"Please… no…" one Demon Slayer wheezed weakly.

"Don't give up, Usui…" the girl that Velvet had noticed first tried to say encouragingly, although there was no mistaking the despair in her own voice.

"I… can't… take it… anymore… Ozaki…"

His bones were bent at angles they shouldn't be. The fact that he was even _speaking_ was a wonder in itself.

"_Velvet…" _Kanae whispered harshly.

"I know."

She counted the Demon Slayers in view. There were eight of them she could see, and Velvet noted where the lines were being attached to their persons.

_Now or never._

She swooped down from above, cutting first at the lines holding the girl in the lead up from above. The girl – Ozaki? – slumped down on the ground, gasping in surprise, but other lines of silver thread were still attached to her limbs.

"What –" Ozaki exclaimed weakly, turning her now-free head wildly. As she caught sight of Velvet, the therion was already slicing at the other lines of thread she could see, her wrist- and foot-blades extended, never once ceasing in motion. "You're – wait, you're a civilian! No! Wait! Get help!"

"Too late for that!"

The other controlled Demon Slayers were forced to turn toward her, their movements stiff, grabbing at their weapons. Still, Velvet didn't cease her efforts, slicing the threads where she could see.

A glint of silver at the corner of her eyes where Ozaki had been caught her attention. She was being forced to stand, her eyes fearful, blade raised high, beginning to charge unsteadily at Velvet.

"RUN! The demon's controlling my body! I'm not this strong on my own!"

The threads had reattached?! But how –

"The spiders!" Kanae shouted. "They're attaching new lines every time you cut them!"

"Save yourself!" Ozaki urged desperately, tears falling from her eyes. "You're not a Demon Slayer, you can't stay here!"

"Just let us die!" one of her peers concurred weakly, although the vigour with which he was being forced to swing his sword was anything but. "We're already… dead… anyway…"

_Hell no._

"I'm not leaving you all to die!" she slashed at several more lines of thread, vaulting and twirling as she cut at them, while dodging their clumsy strikes.

"Look out!" one male voice cried out.

She turned, eyes widening as his arms were bent into angles they anatomically couldn't, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking as his sword was flung forcefully toward her. She changed her course mid-step, pushing herself off the ground with one hand, then stepped precisely onto the blade mid-flight and kicking off it to slash at other lines of thread.

"What –"

Damn it. She needed to think of a plan. She could cut all the lines easily, but having to track new ones being formed and slice them as well, all while dodging their albeit telegraphed strikes was becoming annoying.

She analysed her situation rationally. She couldn't easily see where the spiders were coming from. It was too dark to spot them quickly, and there were too many angles from which they could spin their threads, with how many trees there were around them. Therefore –

_New plan._

"Kanae, find the demon, then get back here!"

"Got it!" Without further hesitation, the former Hashira leapt deeper into the treeline, only looking back once with the shortest of glances. In that instant, Velvet saw just how _determined_ the look in her eyes was.

"Who are you talking to?" one Demon Slayer questioned. She ignored him. This next part would be slightly tricky.

"When I give the signal, all of you get down!"

"What do you mean?!" Ozaki shouted back, then gasped in pain as another of her bones snapped.

Velvet leapt backward, taking a moment to take in where the threads holding all eight Demon Slayers aloft were. She narrowed her eyes, then snapped into motion, leaping forward and engaging in a series of rapid kicks and spins with her boot-blades.

"Heaven's Wrath!"

Within instants, one by one, their broken bodies crumpled on the ground, but Velvet wasn't done just yet. New spiders would soon attach lines from above. She quickly sent a pulse of mana down her right arm, condensing and shaping it for several moments, before unleashing it in another arte.

"Cerberus Wave!"

The tornado of flames was aimed above their heads, catching the demonic spiders that were rapidly descending down upon the grounded Demon Slayers. Even those that weren't directly caught by her hidden arte was sucked into the swirling vortex of wind and fire, sent away from their targets.

"What the – fire?!" one Demon Slayer gasped, but coughed weakly as he strained at his injuries.

She wasn't done just yet. The Demon Slayers were free, and the spiders temporarily couldn't get to them, and the last part of her newly devised plan was to come into play.

"All of you, GET DOWN!"

She didn't need to give that order, really.

As injured as they were, they couldn't have risen even if they wanted to. Some, like Ozaki, were slightly better off, but after being forced to stand and move as though a marionette for who knows how _long_ they'd been subjected to that kind of torture, remaining on the ground must be a luxury.

She vaulted backward, catching as wide an angle as she could. Then, her daemonic arm burst free from its bandages, revealing the sinister claw buried underneath, far larger than it had been moments ago.

"You're a _demon_?!"

Funny, how she kept getting that reaction.

She focused for a moment, making sure that the angles were just right, then –

"_**DISCORD!"**_

She swung her therion arm wildly, slashing in motions that seemed random and imprecise, but ones that she had estimated would keep the Demon Slayers relatively safe from falling debris while still removing the places available for the spiders to hide. Waves of malevolent energy were sent shooting out from each jagged claw, passing without resistance through the deep barks of tree trunks. For several moments, all that was heard was the thundering _thumps_ as chunks of trees fell to the forest ground, obscuring the sound of her limb returning to its dormant state.

"Which of you can still move?" she asked quickly.

"You're a demon!" a Demon Slayer began crawling away from her on his hands, wincing in pain as he did so, his legs bent and misshapen. "S – stay away!"

"Kenta!" Ozaki snapped. "D- Demon or not, she just freed us!" She turned toward Velvet, rising slowly to her feet, grunting in pain with deep, rapid breaths. Even then, she seemed to be the least damaged of the bunch. "I… I can still fight, so –"

"You can barely stand," Velvet interrupted. "Get your allies out of here!"

"Who are you? Why are you helping us?" Another relatively uninjured Demon Slayer questioned with suspicion. 'Relatively' was the operative term, of course, since he had a clear fracture in his femur.

"Are you seriously going to argue about this _now?_" Velvet asked disbelievingly. She glanced at him for the briefest of moments, then looked back in the direction where Kanae had gone, deeper into the forest. "Damn it! More spiders are coming! Get moving!"

"But – "

"MOVE!"

"D – don't die!"

Ozaki began to grab one of the downed Demon Slayers, dragging him slowly away out of the forest. A moment later, the other less injured one did the same, but there were still four Demon Slayers being left behind. It was going to be some time until the other two returned to get them out.

"None of you can move?"

"I can't… move my legs… but I can crawl –"

"Do it!" she didn't turn to face him, but heard the sound of a body being dragged against the leaves on the forest floor quickly after. More than one person, based on the sounds she heard. She faced the approaching spiders, then began striking at the approaching spiders, piercing them with all three blades she had.

She took a moment to look back at the Demon Slayers. One was utterly motionless, although his chest was still rising and falling. The other three were slowly, and clearly _painfully_, crawling away in the direction that the others had gone.

This wasn't sustainable. She couldn't just hold out against these waves of spiders for the others to return. She could more than easily fend for herself, sure, but there was no guarantee that she could keep the Demon Slayers safe while she did so.

She could abandon him and attempt to seek out the demon responsible for this, but doing so would likely mean that the Demon Slayer would die. If the demon was capable of controlling their limbs with just thread alone, then he could more than likely simply outright kill them if Velvet attempted to confront him. The remaining alternative, then, was…

"KANAE!" she shouted, hoping that the malak could still hear her. "I'm covering their retreat! Find the demon, and regroup!"

For a moment, there wasn't a reply, but Velvet grabbed hold of the downed Demon Slayer with her human arm. He was unconscious, his body riddled with cuts, bones shattered and broken all around. To be used as a demon's plaything, to be so utterly _powerless… _Velvet couldn't imagine how that must have felt, and her blood boiled. Melchior's illusion of a fake Aball had been horrible enough.

"RIGHT!" Kanae finally replied moments later. "Stay safe!"

"You three, follow me!" She ordered the crawling Demon Slayers. Then, she turned back toward the direction she came from, charging yet another arte. "Shadow Flow!"

The orb of thick darkness sucked in the spiders that were approaching from the ground, travelling several metres, before remaining in place with how much mana she had packed into the arte. It would stay there for some time, before bursting and destroying the spiders it caught.

She hoped that would be the case, at least.

"Keep moving!"

They continued at that pace, her continuing to urge the crawling and limping Demon Slayers on despite the agony they must have felt. She'd certainly experienced her fair share of similar injuries in the past, although they didn't have the luxury of having Phi's healing artes at hand.

Then, at last, Ozaki and the other Demon Slayer capable of moving met up with them on their way back. Their eyes widened in surprise as they came across Velvet, who was _still_ being forced to fend off spiders coming toward them, although their numbers had lessened considerably.

"Grab them!" she gestured with her free, bandaged hand at the three who were slowly trudging along on the ground. "Move!"

At least they didn't argue this time. They grabbed one each, then supported the remaining member who could at least limp, and began to pick up the pace.

It took several more minutes before they at last reached an open clearing where the other two Demon Slayers were left lying on the ground. It had been several minutes of her unleashing arte after arte at waves of spiders, but at least they were spaced out intermittently enough that there hadn't been a risk of her exhausting herself.

The two Demon Slayers who had earlier been transported by Ozaki and the other one of her peers were severely injured, but at least they were _alive_. Likewise, the three who were at least conscious didn't have immediately life-threatening injuries, but the same couldn't be said for the one in her arm.

Carefully, he laid him down, making sure not to aggravate his injuries more than they already were. The situation wasn't good. It didn't take an expert eye to notice that there were far too many angles in each of his limbs than should be possible, alongside the sheer amount of blood pooling out onto the grass below.

"Please… kill me…" he gasped weakly, flitting in and out of consciousness. "Bones… piercing… int – _internal_… organs… _pain…_"

"Usui…" Ozaki knelt by his side, grasping at his hand tightly, a streak of tears dripping down.

Damn it. Velvet _really_ didn't want to expend her currently limited supply of gels, at least until she verified that she could make more, but at present the situation warranted the use of one. Even then, she wasn't certain whether he could survive.

Quickly, she dug around her pack, taking out the first gel she could grab. "Eat this," she ordered rapidly, placing the apple gel in his mouth.

"What…"

"Usui, she's a demon, don't –"

"Do it!"

Slowly, agonisingly, he did as he was told, taking a few painful chews before swallowing the apple gel. That was all she could do. All she could do now was hope for the best for him.

In a few moments, he gave a single gasp, then his breathing eased slightly. Still, it didn't fix the fact that his bones were shattered in more places than she could count. The gel might have stabilised his condition slightly, but his life was slowly ebbing away. He would need proper medical attention, and fast.

"What did you feed him?"

"Medication. Get help. You Demon Slayers have crows or something to communicate, right?"

"R- right!" Ozaki snapped out of the fugue state she had been in by the injured Demon Slayer's side. Within moments, a crow flew away from her vicinity, but Velvet didn't have the time to ponder over just how Demon Slayers communicated. She could always ask Kanae later.

"You're a demon," the male who had still been able to evacuate the others stated. Slowly, hesitantly, he reached for his sword.

"Are you _serious_ right now?!" Velvet snapped in frustration.

"Eiji, don't!" Ozaki cried in alarm. "Demon or not, she saved –"

"It's against our code!"

She dodged his clumsy strike, then disarmed him in a single motion, sending his katana tumbling to the ground a short distance away. She shoved him down to the ground, then glared at him with mixed incredulity and anger.

He should really count himself lucky she was making a serious attempt to not revert to how she had been in the past. Otherwise, he'd have been dead at least ten times over by now.

"This _demon_ is going back in to find and kill another demon," she said sarcastically, rising to her full height, blade still extended. "All of you, stay here and wait for your backup to arrive."

"Wait, you can't –"

Damn it. She was wasting time here. She leapt back into the forest, finally able to put her speed to good use, leaving the rest of the Demon Slayers behind in her wake.

If these were the rank and file members of an organisation that only had a few hundred people, they were severely lacking in so many aspects it wasn't funny. It was yet another thing she would need to ask Kanae about. She'd faced fresh exorcists capable of putting up a better fight.

"Velvet!" she heard Kanae shout from some distance away. "I found her!"

_Finally._

She raced along the trees, leaping and vaulting over branches, preserving her momentum through tight turns and bends toward the direction of her voice. She saw some spiders attempt to organise themselves, weaving makeshift nets to halt her advance, but dodging them or simply slicing through them was a paltry task now that she didn't need to cover for rookie Demon Slayers.

With Kanae's directions, reaching the demon now that she knew where to head towards was simple enough. When at last she came face to face with the demon, she saw a demon dressed entirely in white, clothes, strings of threads attached to each finger, seeming as though she had been in pursuit of Velvet and the escaped Demon Slayers. She must have abandoned the other party that had engaged her, then.

Her eyes widened, first in surprise, and then with fear, while Velvet's own narrowed with fury.

No words were necessary.

She activated her claw, and leapt off from the tree trunk she perched on, diving down toward the demon.

For an instant, the demon looked about to retaliate, shifting the threads on her fingers, then –

Just as suddenly, she hung her head down low, accepting the incoming strike. Velvet's eyes widened, and she tried to alter her course, but she couldn't alter her momentum with how hard and fast she'd kicked off against the thick bark of the tree.

Her claw swiped across the demon's torso, feeling the familiar sensation of malevolence being consumed from the demon, and they both tumbled into the dirt below. Velvet rode on her momentum, rolling to her feet, then spun to stare at where the demon had been.

In her place, there was now only a girl.

A _child._

"You're just a child," Velvet uttered softly. She felt powerless, and yet she knew it had to be done.

It felt like it had been when she'd been forced to kill Oscar, only now somehow _worse_ than that.

"Velvet –" Kanae gasped, reaching the demon just seconds after she had done so.

The Lord of Calamity knelt by the side of the girl, who couldn't be older than seven, her form slowly disappearing into dust. Even the small trail of tears streaking down from the side of her eyes were fading away.

"Thank you…" she whispered softly, gently, her words quickly becoming lost in the wind. "I'm free from him at last…"

"I'm sorry," was all Velvet could say. There was no stopping the process now.

"Don't… cry…" The girl _smiled_ faintly, the corners of her lips fading away. "I finally remember… her eyes… I'll be… joining them… soon…"

Was she crying? She placed a finger at the corner of her eyes, and found that it came back slightly damp.

"Be careful of… Rui…" her final words came through, softer than the softest of whispers. "He's… one of the Twelve… Moons…"

"Wait!"

The girl stirred just ever-so-slightly, regarding her with fluttering eyes that barely remained open.

"What is your name?"

As her material form dissipated, her final words lingered for just a moment longer.

"_Miyuki…_"

Again, as it had been with the wolf-daemon from the night before, Velvet simply stared at the spot where the girl had occupied, the ghost of her final soft smile carved into her mind.

Now, in the aftermath of the deed, she could make sense of the malevolence she'd consumed from her.

"Despair," she said softly. Kanae turned toward her. "_Despair,_" she repeated more loudly, volume rising in anger. "Despair and cowardice. Those are the only two malevolences I felt from her."

"Velvet…"

"No greed. No conceit. No selfishness. Hell, not even _hatred_." She looked to face Kanae, and she knew her eyes were burning with silent fury and conviction. Velvet understood fully well just what it meant to despair. "I'm _killing _this 'Rui' demon."

The sounds of fighting were growing in the distance, although they seemed to be coming from different directions. Just what was going on in this damned mountain?

"I understand." Kanae nodded resolutely, and Velvet could see that same anger reflected in her eyes. "What's your plan?"

"We split up again," Velvet suggested after a brief moment of consideration. "Follow in the direction where we hear combat. If you come across Rui, or any fight where you think I need to intervene, shout for me. We'll cover more ground that way."

"Are you sure?"

"You can't fight any of these demons as you are now," she told the malak. "This is our best option."

"Fine. Stay safe." Again, Kanae's experience kicked in, not wasting time in argument as the junior Demon Slayers had done. They exchanged a nod, then darted off in opposite directions.

She raced between the trees, keeping a constant eye out for threats. With the death of the demon earlier, however, it seemed that control over the threads within the trees were now lost, since her movements were now unimpeded.

She could hear the sound of laughter ahead, what seemed to be taunts, and the screech of steel being drawn. She pushed herself to move faster, practically flying among the trees. The sounds grew louder –

Then, there was a final venerable _thunderclap_, before all else abruptly fell silent.

That was either a really good sign, or a terrible one.

She moved even faster now, her limbs suffused by the daemonic power within her, pushing herself to her limits.

Then, at last, she came across what looked like a wooden house suspended in the air by lines of silk. On the ground below, all around, there were craters dotting the landscape, cracks extending outward from various impact points.

What kind of fighting had gone on here?

On the roof of the building, there was a single boy, lying flat on his back, staring upward. He wore the same Demon Slayer uniform his peers donned, with a yellow patterned haori draped around himself.

She swore aloud, and leapt up onto the building to check on him. His eyes were fluttering, closing and opening every few moments, and his hands…

_Poison. _Purple pustules were dotting every exposed surface of his body, tracing lines along his skin. His face was bloodied, looking uncomprehendingly upward.

"_Don't ever give up… Gramps_…" he muttered faintly. "_Gramps…"_

By his side, a small sparrow was chirping sorrowfully. It turned toward her, its expression simultaneously hopeful and desperate.

Damn it. She was really being forced to go through her supplies quickly.

She snatched a panacea bottle from one of her pouches, tipping a small amount of its contents into his open mouth.

"Drink," she encouraged.

Slowly, although she had no idea whether or not he was even truly _conscious_, he took the faintest of sips. Then she repeated the action, and he followed through.

Again and again, until the bottle was emptied.

The bird gave another chirp, one of hope and curiosity.

"An antidote," she explained. Could the sparrow even understand her? Its eyes widened, and it flew to rub its face against her.

Guess that answered her question.

"Who… are… you…?"

Together, both of them turned toward the yellow-haired boy. Immediately, the bird flew down, giving a loud thrill as it nuzzled its head against the boy's body.

"Are… you… an angel…?" his voice trailed off, and she snorted in amusement.

Best that no one of Midgand ever hear him call the _Lord of Calamity_ an angel.

"The panacea bottle should take effect quickly enough," she told him, although she still wasn't sure how aware he was of his surroundings. She took a brief look at the pustules on his hands, and noted that their size had decreased slightly. "In the meantime, try not to move."

She addressed the bird next. "Can you get help? I can't stay here –"

"FOUND HIM!" Kanae's voice practically bellowed, audible only to herself. "VELVET! COME QUICK! HE NEEDS HELP!"

_Damn it._

"I need to go." She stood up from where she'd been kneeling, matching the malak in volume. "ON MY WAY!"

She didn't care that to anyone else, she had just abruptly shouted to no one in particular. In a combat situation like this, her mind was fully compartmentalised.

"I'LL KEEP TRACK OF THE FIGHT! COME QUICK; THE BOY CAN'T WIN AGAINST THIS DEMON!"

Damn it. She leapt off from the building, racing in yet another direction once more. She hoped that the sparrow would send for someone to look after its master, or that the panacea bottle would finish its cleansing effect quickly enough. This entire damned mountain was quickly seeming to be littered with all manner of demons.

Every second counted here. Trees came and went in her vision, altering her course every now and then, guided by Kanae's yelling.

"VELVET, HURRY!"

The sheer urgency and panic in Kanae's voice spurred her on. Her legs were protesting now, even with the enhanced strength and stamina that came with her transformation into a daemon, but she pressed on. For Kanae to have so much dread meant that the situation was dire, indeed.

"**Blood Demon Art: Murderous Eye Basket!"**

Again, she arrived precisely in the nick of time, only to watch as an interconnecting series of blood-red threads began to form into the shape of a sphere. In the same instant, she noted the prone body of a boy at the very centre, holding a broken katana, fruitlessly struggling at the inevitable death to come. In front of him, some distance away, a demon closed his fist, and the threads rapidly closed in toward the boy.

Instinct took over.

Without conscious input on her part, her therion arm burst from its bindings, its eerie red matching the colour of the demon's threads. Its jagged edges gleamed proudly, angrily, and for the first time since her arrival into this world Velvet would gladly sate its thirst.

"**NIGHTMARE CLAW!"**

She slashed with wild abandon, ripping whatever substance it was that composed his threads to ribbons. It devoured them readily, meeting no resistance whatsoever, with a hunger reserved only for those she truly desired to consume, the diced ribbons sucked into her claw into nothingness.

It was an arte, then. She could sense physical components, mana, and malevolence making up the substance she had just devoured.

"Velvet!" Kanae was about to rush into the fray, but quickly stepped back as Velvet moved her therion arm in a silent gesture.

_Too much malevolence._ There was a risk that she could transform into a dragon. Kanae seemed to understand that, standing a very respectful distance away, watching on with obvious mixed gratefulness, concern, and worry.

Velvet focused her attention on Rui; a calm fury, the eye of the storm.

"Greed, conceit, obsession, and selfishness." The calm of her voice as she noted the types of malevolence that made up his arte betrayed none of her inner rage. "I take it that you're the demon known as Rui."

The pink-haired demon looked at her dispassionately, as though she hadn't just annihilated his arte into nothingness. It was that same look of calm and utter _boredom_ that Artorius gave her each time they fought, and her rage intensified.

Her claw matched her fury, ever a part of her, spewing forth malevolence in vast quantities, quickly thickening and building up into the _domain_ of the Lord of Calamity.

Even then, he still didn't have any visible reaction. Some distance away, she noted the presence of a second demon – a girl, pale, milky-white skin, hair just past the shoulders – cowering beside a tree trunk.

Velvet disregarded her entirely, focused only on Rui.

"Wait! B- brother, she's the one who killed Mother! Shouldn't we –"

Thin lines of thread shot forth from Rui's fingers, cutting the demon's torso into four unequal pieces.

_What the hell?_

"It is not the older sister's place to tell her brother to run," he said listlessly. "Father and Mother protect their children. The sister supports the brother. _None _of you fulfilled the roles you have been assigned."

His voice was still as calm as it had been.

"W- wait!" the other demon cried desperately. "I was –"

"Shut up." For the first time, traces of anger entered his voice, and she quieted instantly.

_Roles. Places. Assigned._

_Artorius._

Somehow – she had no idea how it was even _possible – _she finally met someone she could honestly say she might just hate more than Artorius.

This demon carried his ideals of _reason_, twisting them to the extreme for his self-serving purposes.

Understandably, Velvet was _furious._

"You're a demon," Rui intoned indifferently. "But not one of his."

"I take it you're talking about Muzan?"

Behind her, he could hear the downed boy gasp, but paid him no mind for now. If Kanae was so desperate for her to save him, he likely wasn't a threat to her. Even if he _was_, he clearly wasn't in a state to attack her.

"You _dare _speak his name?" Again, anger leaked into his voice.

"Kibutsuji Muzan. So-called progenitor of demons."

Somehow, the girl demon that had been sliced into pieces was trembling in what looked like fear. Rui, on the other hand, had regained control over his emotions, looking utterly bored once more.

"He's interested in those like you, you know. Perhaps you'd like to join my family?"

He gestured behind him, at the so-called _sister_ he shredded into pieces moments before. Velvet's arm was pulsing with malevolence, demanding to consume and devour.

_Not yet._

She would make damn sure that the _girl _from earlier had at least some manner of revenge. She didn't forget in the slightest how much despair she'd tasted from the child as she faded away.

"I fought one from your family earlier."

"That must be Mother. She died defending her child." He spoke nonchalantly, as though discussing the weather, no traces of guilt, sadness or _empathy_ she could discern.

"What was her name?" Velvet's voice cracked slightly, betraying only the slightest bit of anger threatening to be released.

"She was Mother –"

"I want her _name."_

"She is the Mother Spider Demon. She needs no name."

_You gave me a name, when I was a number. _Phi's voice from a time when she had sunken to the depths of despair came to her mind.

She gritted her teeth.

One last question.

"Why do you think that birds fly?"

"Hmm?" Despite the sound he made, Rui didn't sound curious in the least.

"Humour me."

She didn't need to wait more than a second.

"Isn't it obvious? Birds fly, because they have to."

She heard enough.

He was truly worse than _Artorius._

She would kill him. But first, he would _suffer._

"Her name…" she practically growled, claw enlarging further, the shroud of darkness surrounding it thickening. "_…_is _**Miyuki**__!_"

With a roar of rage, she _flooded_ the area with malevolence, condensing it around herself, then released it in an explosion of force as she propelled herself toward the demon.

She felt just a slight hint of sadistic glee when the demon's eyes widened fractionally, his façade breaking through in just the barest display of fear.

"Blood Demon Art –"

"Banishing Thunder!"

Before he could unleash his arte, she was already in motion, spinning in a series of swirling kicks that sliced through the nascent threads forming between his fingers. Two deep gouges were carved in his torso, threads quickly forming to stitch them back together, but she wasn't done just yet. With a crash of lightning, she zipped to the other side of him, a thunderbolt striking him at the side.

Before he could even attempt a counter, she was facing him once more, not letting up in the slightest. With a forceful lunge, her _Mega Sonic Thrust_ sent him flying back to crash into a thick tree with an explosion of deafening power, and then through that tree to another.

"Get up," she spat, as he stirred slowly from the crater the demon had landed in, threads attaching his severed parts together. "I'm not done yet."

_Good. _Now, he was angry.

With a savage roar, he abandoned whatever calm he had before, leaping into the air and swinging his arms rapidly. Lines of silk came at her from every direction, snapping like whips.

With a single swipe of her arm whose hunger was yet to be sated, she cut them into pieces.

"Be careful! He can –" The downed Demon Slayer gave a choked cough. "They can change direc – direction!"

Good to know.

"**Blood Demon Art – Cutting Thread Rotation!"**

A sphere of swirling red malevolence-imbued silk formed before him, spinning rapidly, screeching against the wind.

"_DIE!" _With that guttural cry from the demon, lines of blood-red silk bent from all directions in a dense net, racing toward her.

They closed in fast, but she'd faced worse.

"VELVET!" Kanae warned.

Just before they would have struck her, she unleashed her next arte. She dug her feet deep into the ground, then slashed with both blade and claw in a cyclone of razor-sharp strikes.

"Rush Strafe!"

At the end of it all, she remained untouched. Her feet finally moved, her stance bent low, summoning a vortex of swirling wind that sucked and swept away the scattered remnants of his arte.

She took slow, deliberate steps toward the demon, his fear on full display. The part of her that was therion fed readily on the terror and uncertainty now starting to leak out from him.

"Is that all?" Her tone was calm, but the inferno within was anything but.

"Impossible!" There was some desperation in his voice. "You're not one of his Moons –"

"My turn."

To the three observers watching the fight, she _disappeared _from view, cutting the distance between herself and Rui in an instant, then crushed and threw him into the air with her serrated claw.

"_This fight is over_!"

She leapt up, slashing at him, then kicked off from his body in mid-air, arresting her momentum against a tree. Immediately, she jumped off from there, striking at him again, keeping him aloft, climbing higher and higher. Then again, and again; attacks from blade and claw alike coming from a hundred different angles.

So what if he could regenerate? It just meant that she would need to carve him up more finely.

Then, she would devour him.

The effectiveness of this arte was halved without Phi's contribution, but for a demon of his standard she could more than easily utterly annihilate him on her own.

_Ultimate Arte –_

Again and again she struck, rising higher and higher up along the tall trunks of trees, his unnatural regeneration no longer able to keep up with the sheer relentlessness of her assault. At last, when they cleared above the tallest of the trees that she no longer had any solid anchor to vault off from, she slammed her therion arm down onto him.

In mid-air, as her momentum arrested, she fed mana into her arm, and then out into the air around her, shaping and condensing it; waiting, _waiting –_

Dozens of spectral blades formed in the air, and moments before the demon's plummeting body would meet the ground, she sent them flying toward him.

"_Innumerable Wounds!"_

Swords pierced the dozen separated parts of his body, faint lines of silk barely holding them together. He struggled fruitlessly against the blades pinning him down, as Velvet finally landed back on the ground with the softest of taps.

Before he could say anything, whether to beg for his life or to curse her to damnation, Velvet was next to him in an instant. Her therion arm slammed down onto his torso that barely remained intact, taking rapid, greedy gulps of everything that was the demon, Rui.

"This is your end."

He possessed a lot more malevolence than the other demons she'd fought on this world thus far. Where a single swipe and brief instants of contact had been sufficient to drain them of life, destroying flesh and malevolence alike until the point where the transformation could no longer be sustained, this demon required several tens of seconds of her arm sucking and devouring the nuanced substances that composed him.

For those moments, all that was heard in the ruined clearing of toppled tree trunks and gouges rent in the dirt and soil below was the staccato of greedy swallowing by her therion arm, as the demon's body _still _tried futilely to regenerate.

"_Velvet…"_ Kanae whispered faintly. Fearfully? It was hard to decipher.

Honestly, Velvet didn't really care.

Slowly, inevitably, he too began to revert to his human body for the final moments before being consumed by her claw forevermore, just as every enemy she had ever faced had done.

Finally, she returned her arm to its inactive form, as the last vapours of his life trailed into it.

"_My family…" _his disembodied head began speaking. "_I can't remember…"_

She stared at him dispassionately. Demon or human, everything he'd done in his time as Rui went against everything that she and all her companions stood for.

"_Your question…"_ his voice trembled, diction changing as his head slowly began dissipating from the edges. "Why birds fly… what is the answer?"

Perhaps in his final moments, she would enlighten him as to just how twisted his little façade of a family had been.

Perhaps, like Artorius before him, this demon could die a _human_.

"Birds fly because they want to. They don't need a reason," she echoed the words she told Artorius from a lifetime ago. "They don't fly for anyone's benefit. They don't fly because they were ordered to. Even if their wings may snap and doom them to die, still they _choose _to fly."

He coughed, a weak laugh, his eyeballs rolling up back up to face the night sky from where they had turned to look at her.

"_I see…" _The corners of his lips were beginning to fade now. "_Will I… see them…?"_

Now, in the last instants of his life, buried deep beneath the hatred, selfishness, obsession and greed, she finally felt it.

The only part of him that wasn't composed of malevolence, shrouded beneath layers and layers of an obscuring shell, untouched ever since the boy known as Rui had become a demon.

Grief. Love.

She could spare one final white lie.

"Yes."

He gave a final rattling choke, a final self-deprecating smile as his mouth faded from the material world.

"_You're… a bad… liar…"_

Rui – demon _and_ human – was gone.

"_You turned him into a human…"_ She wasn't quite sure who had uttered that, faint as it was.

She scrunched her eyes tight for a moment, inhaling deeply, then let out her breath slowly. She stood there for a moment longer, before finally turning back to the demon that had been part of his family, quaking in fear as she stared uncomprehendingly at where her so-called brother had been.

"You."

Her eyes snapped toward Velvet's, body having been reattached some time during the fight.

"W- Wait! Please, don't –"

"Stay there. Don't move."

She flinched, then nodded her head rapidly. No doubt her earlier display had cowed her from any attempt at running. Velvet fixed her with a level glare for a moment, before turning to regard the Demon Slayer who Kanae had been so concerned over, moving to kneel by his side.

"Your scent…" the boy uttered.

Scent? Was he delirious, now?

"Don't try to move," she ordered, taking a look over his injuries. There were many cuts all over his body, his reinforced garment bearing numerous rips and tears, but nothing that appeared fatal. That was good.

"Please… _Nezuko…"_

"Nezuko?"

He pointed weakly, attempting to crawl on his hands and feet, but his body didn't budge. She followed the direction he pointed in, and now that she wasn't focused on the fight, she noticed that she had somehow missed the bloodied body of a small girl lying some distance away in the dirt –

_Wait…_

That aura of malevolence appeared strange, but still –

"She's a demon?"

"NO!" the boy immediately burst out, before entering a coughing fit as he aggravated his injuries. "Nezuko… Nezuko is my… sister!"

She blinked, nonplussed. Velvet made her way over the girl, who was also trying to crawl slowly toward the Demon Slayer, shooting a brief glance at Kanae as she did so.

"I don't understand it either, but she's safe!" she frantically added, moving to Velvet's side now that the malevolence around her had lessened. "She shielded her brother with her own body against the demon!"

Yet another mystery. She knelt down, watching as the girl tried valiantly to force her battered body to move. For a human, her injuries would have been severe – possibly fatal – but from what she knew of demons of this world, she would _probably _regenerate soon.

Gently, she picked her up, and slowly placed her next to her brother.

"Nezuko…" Brother and sister clasped their hands tightly. "_Nezuko…"_

Velvet turned back toward the remaining demon, who was watching the sight with a maelstrom of emotions that Velvet couldn't even begin to decipher. Now that she was certain that neither of the pair was about to die, she could finally deal with the matter of the sole remaining member of this mockery of a demon family.

"I've killed two demons today," she began saying, and the demon flinched further, backing up against a tree trunk, squirming madly. "I _really_ don't want to have to kill another."

"Please –"

"Rui was a monster, but at the very end he might perhaps have had just the slightest shred of humanity in him," Velvet interrupted, looking searchingly at the demon girl in the eyes. "Miyuki controlled the Demon Slayers, treating them as tools, but I felt only despair and cowardice from her. No hatred, no conceit; no selfishness, greed, lust, or obsession."

She stared at the demon's face all the while, hoping that there would just be at least the slightest ghost of a chance of anything that suggested she could be redeemed. Sorrow, guilt, regret, _anything; _just a sign that there might be some faint spark of decency within.

Someone better than a hypocrite like herself.

"My question then, is this: why should I spare you? Why give you another chance?"

The demon's eyes sparked with hope for a moment, and the words came flowing rapidly out of her mouth. "I was forced to! Please, I didn't want any of this! Let me go, and I swear I'll never kill another human again! I'll do anything, so please… please!"

"Never kill another human, you say?" Velvet mused. She took a moment to comprehend just what her therion arm was telling her, disguised under its bandages though it may be. "I can feel it, you know. Your selfishness. Despair. Cowardice. How do I know I can believe you?"

Those sensations only intensified.

"Please!" she was almost begging now. "I didn't want any of this!"

"Velvet?" Kanae questioned quietly. "What are you doing?"

She didn't answer the malak, focusing her attention only on the demon. "I've killed humans before, you know," she said. Behind her, he heard the boy gasp again. "Even more than you, probably. Ones who deserved death, and ones who didn't."

"Then why are you _doing this_?" the demon sobbed pitifully. "Please, let me go!"

"I know a little of what it's like to be trapped," she said, and noted that the demon was focused only on her. Good. "In her final moments, Miyuki was _relieved _to be free at last. There was no resentment toward me, or anyone else at all." She closed her eyes momentarily, recalling that sheer sense of hopelessness she had tasted from the demon. "No one should be controlled like that, human or demon."

"Wait… lady…" the boy said faintly, and three heads snapped to face him. His body was still weak, battered and bruised, but there was a strange _conviction _in his eyes that seemed so very familiar.

_Phi's eyes._

"She was… forced… I can vouch for that…" he wheezed. "When I arrived, the demon – he – he was torturing her…"

He was actually _defending_ a demon?

Well, colour her impressed.

"What is your name?"

"H- huh?" he was caught offguard for a moment, but regained his composure quickly. "Kamado Tanjiro!"

Tanjiro, hmm? She thought of how she wanted to handle this matter.

Well, there was an idea, but…

"Hmm," she hummed, looking back at the demon. "If it were up to me, I would be inclined to give you another chance –"

"Please!"

"- but I'm just a monstrous demon like you." Velvet turned around, facing the boy, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "So, then – I'll let you decide." She observed him carefully. "Tanjiro – Demon Slayer – what do you think?"

This wasn't just out of some sense of justice that a human should be the one to decide the fate of the demon. Truthfully, she wanted to get a sense of who this bizarre boy was – a Demon Slayer working with his demon sister? – and how he saw the world. For someone who was analogous to an exorcist of her world, she could honestly say that she had never quite come across anyone like him.

The closest she could think of was Eleanor, but even then, she had treated the dogma that all daemons were evil creatures unworthy of love or compassion as unshakeable truth, up until she had been confronted by the true nature of the Abbey.

"M- me?" Tanjiro hesitated.

"Velvet, are you sure about this?" Kanae whispered uncertainly. Very slowly, she nodded both to the Demon Slayer and Kanae, and Tanjiro turned to faced the demon, expression unreadable.

"How many humans have you killed?"

"F- five!"

A spike of selfishness, despair, a –

"Lie." Both of them snapped to face her. "Please tell Tanjiro here the truth."

"I really only killed –"

"I can tell, you know." She glared at the demon. "This is your only warning."

"I –" She choked on her tears, face hung down low, defeated. "Eighty-three."

Ehh, still less than the number Velvet had eaten, really.

She could try to convince herself that those were exorcists that fought against her, that she had no other choice, that she left civilians alone where she could, but the truth was that many more had been damned by her hands. The entirety of Haria had been destroyed by her actions, whether or not she consumed them directly.

Oddly enough, Tanjiro sniffed the air, looking at her strangely, but then addressed the demon once more.

"Do you –" he paused for a moment, his expression resolute. "Do you regret it?"

"Yes." Now, cornered as she was, she didn't make any effort to beg or plead. "I'm at your mercy."

There was silence for several seconds, Tanjiro staring intently at the demon. Then, he closed his eyes, seeming as though finally coming to a decision, and spoke.

"You're a monster," he said firmly, and the demon flinched. "You're a demon. You killed so many people. I know that I should hate you, but…" He sighed, looking at her with a sincere expression, his eyes filled with such heavy tiredness. "I believe that there are good demons and bad demons. I… I don't know if you _can _be good, if you've killed so many – but I think you deserve at least a chance."

For a moment, they were all silent.

Well, well. It was rare that someone could impress her twice in a day.

Unheard by anyone else, Kanae whistled in admiration.

"T – thank you!" the demon's head bobbed rapidly. Velvet couldn't tell whether or not she was actually being truthful, the malevolence oozing from her undecipherable. "I won't kill anymore humans, so please…"

She looked at Velvet hopefully, desperately. Velvet glanced at Kanae, and the Flower Hashira nodded slowly.

Fine, then.

"Here's what's going to happen," she said. "I'm taking you away from here. I'll be keeping a close eye on you, and –"

She paused, as something pricked at her senses. She turned sharply, listening intently, then –

"Someone's coming."

Her therion claw burst forth, her back facing the demon, looking in the direction where Tanjiro and his sister were lying. She tensed. Whoever this was, he was moving quickly, based on the faint sound of rapid footsteps and the rustling of leaves.

_An attack._ She grabbed the demon with her human arm, sending them both tumbling away. She rolled gracefully to stand and regard the new arrival, while the demon lay on the ground, having not expected the sudden ambush and rescue.

"Demons."

Her assailant stood protectively in front of Tanjiro and his sister, his katana unsheathed and at the ready.

"Giyu?!" Kanae exclaimed, startled.

"W- wait!" Tanjiro shouted, wincing as he struggled against injuries. "She saved my life!"

"Hmm?" the newcomer inclined his head slightly, but didn't let down his guard at all.

Whoever he was, he was clearly experienced. Powerful, too.

"You know him?" Velvet directed the question at both Kanae and Tanjiro.

"That's Tomioka Giyu!" Kanae told her, voice raised. "He's the Water Hashira! He's sensible, so please don't –"

"Tomioka-san!" Tanjiro exclaimed. "I know they're both demons, and that they've eaten humans, but… but –"

"Don't waste your sympathy on any demon who's eaten humans." His voice was cold, now looking at her with calculating eyes, searching for any weakness. "It doesn't matter if it looks like a child. They're monsters who have lived decades, at least."

Possibly accurate, since she didn't know how long she'd actually been sealed with Innominat for.

Still, though, he was beginning to remind her of the exorcists she so loathed.

"She saved me!" Tanjiro argued defiantly. "She killed the Lower Moon Five! They've killed humans, but I can feel their grief and regret; it's so overwhelming –"

Finally, for an instant, Giyu's eyes darted toward the Demon Slayer, and widened slightly in recognition. He continued keeping his guard up, but spoke as he did so.

"You're that boy from back then…"

Had they met before, then?

And what did Tanjiro mean when he said that he could _feel_ grief and regret?

"She's also not one of Muzan Kibutsuji's demons!" Tanjiro continued speaking. Now, there was obvious surprise from the Water Hashira. "She can turn demons back into humans!"

"What?!" the man snapped at once, startled, his composure lost for the first time.

Well, she had to correct his misconception.

"I can't actually," she said, her claw still raised in front of her, shielding the demon behind her with her own body. She couldn't actually _see_ her, but hopefully she had enough sense not to attack Velvet while her back was turned. She really didn't want to have to kill another demon today, when she was likely yet another unfortunate victim of circumstance. "Sorry to disappoint."

"Huh?" Tanjiro said, startled, having been interrupted in the middle of his attempting to convince the Hashira to spare two demons' lives. "But back there, you –"

"The explanation is complicated, but I can assure you that I can't turn demons back to humans."

"_Velvet, what are you doing?"_ Kanae hissed.

"But you're not one of Kibutsuji's?" Giyu spoke, then his eyes widened with some sort of realisation. "You're one of those from last night…"

The Scarlet Night?

So the Demon Slayers must have learnt that demons had spontaneously formed without Muzan's intervention, then.

"Sort of," she said, a half-lie.

"Wait… your hand. You're the one Kagaya told us about; the Demon Girl with the Red Hand. You saved that village last night."

…seriously?

"_That_'s what they're calling me?" she scoffed, but didn't let her guard down, matching her opponent's stance. He seemed slightly less tense then before, though.

Still, Kanae was very obviously stifling a giggle.

Which idiot had come up with that name? Even _Lord of Calamity_ sounded better than that.

"What are your intentions?" he asked instead, completely serious.

"At the moment? Getting this girl out of here." She made a slight gesture behind her with her human arm. "After that, we'll see."

"Why are you helping it?"

"I think _she_ deserves a second chance. Ask Tanjiro over there, if you don't believe me."

"That demon is one of Muzan's demons," Giyu warned. "She will kill and devour humans."

"I won't –" the demon said desperately from behind her, but Velvet interjected.

"_Will_ kill, huh?" Her eyes narrowed. "Treating that as a certainty without even knowing her, just because she's one of Kibutsuji Muzan's demons? You know, in that regard, you're being almost similar to the demon I just killed."

"What?" He gripped his sword tight.

"Demons are bad; humans are good?" she continued saying. "Let me be blunt, Tomioka Giyu. I _hate_ assumptions like those."

They glared intensely at each other. Behind her, she could hear the demon girl squirming slightly, while Tanjiro and Nezuko watched on, eyes wide.

"Don't antagonise him!" Kanae urged. "There's no need to fight!"

"Any blood she sheds will be on your hands, you know," Giyu warned. "Can you honestly say that she won't kill any more people?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." She shrugged slightly, as much as she could without compromising on her guard. "Either way, my hands are already stained."

"Velvet!" Kanae scolded again.

If she thought that she would back down on her ideals, Kanae had another thing coming. Velvet had – how had she put it? – 'gone to kill the exorcist legates, and engulfed the world in the flames of chaos' for the sake of the world she believed in.

"You –"

Then, both of them along with Kanae turned, each sensing the impending arrival of yet another person. The newcomer was flitting and darting rapidly between trees, still obscured from sight, quickly approaching and when she appeared –

"_Shinobu?!" _Kanae exclaimed loudly, heard only by Velvet.

"Oh? Giyu?" the woman spoke. "Are you talking to this demon? Three demons are here, but I don't see you making any move to attack?"

"You know her?" Velvet asked, sizing up the new Demon Slayer. Now that she thought about it, with the butterfly ornaments in her hair, and that patterned haori she wore, she seemed almost like –

"She's my sister!" Kanae gasped, voice choking with emotion. "I… I haven't seen her in…"

_Kanae's sister? _What were the chances?

It was official. She had somehow inherited the Reaper's Curse from Eizen, and nothing could convince her otherwise.

"This is a violation of the code, you know," she spoke with a smooth, relaxed voice, yet carrying an undercurrent of danger. "'_Demon Slayers are forbidden from working with or defending Demons'_," she recited.

"W- what? She's not normally like this!" Kanae spoke, trying to reach for her sister, only for her hand to pass through her form. "Our dream was for a world where humans and demons could coexist! Why…"

"Shinobu," Giyu greeted curtly. "This is the one that Kagaya told us about. I've confirmed that she's not one of Kibutsuji's."

"Oh?" She tilted her head to one side with an almost child-like curiosity, studying Velvet carefully. "How do you know?"

"She said his name."

_What? _How was that supposed to mean anything?

"I see. And the other two?"

"One is the boy's sister, who hasn't killed humans. The other is one of the spider demons from this mountain."

"Hmm…" she considered for a moment, then smiled brightly with a spark in her eyes. She clapped her hands once. "Well, then! It's simple, isn't it?"

Without warning, she charged. Velvet reacted instinctively, raising her wrist-blade, but she –

"VELVET!"

_She's attacking the demon._

She spun around, barely catching Shinobu's katana with her own weapon, shoving her backward. The Hashira seemed to float in the air, her wing-like haori dancing in the wind, coming to rest a short distance away.

_What the hell was that?_

"Shinobu!" Kanae desperately shouted, but no one else could hear her. "Stop! Why are you doing this?"

"What the hell are you doing?!" Velvet spat.

"Oh? Is she under your protection?" She smiled pleasantly, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "How wonderful! Not many can match my speed, you know?"

How was Kanae so different from her sister?

_Laphi didn't share his sister's ideals either. _She stifled that thought, then buried it deep within. She didn't need to think about that right now.

"Stay away from her," Velvet spat, twitching her claw slightly, a warning pulse of malevolence burning around it. "I'm not letting you kill her."

"Hmm…" She waved her needle-like modified katana slightly, the smile never once leaving her face. "In that case, then…"

Velvet saw her eyes dart to the side before Shinobu even moved, and she responded automatically, already in motion.

Those who hadn't had a direct view of her eyes reacted just fractionally later.

"SHINOBU, DON'T!"

"SISTER!"

"NEZUKO!"

"WATCH OUT!"

Four voices rang out, Velvet completely silent, as the Hashira lunged at the sole remaining demon of the three, legs, torso and arms moving in perfect unity, Velvet moving to intercept –

_Too fast. Awkward angle_. Velvet wouldn't be able to parry the strike aside, so –

_Ah, to hell with it._

Her right arm was out of position, and so she used her left to block the strike.

"_**STOP!"**_

A gust of wind accompanied Kanae's panicked cry, sending leaves flying everywhere where they stood in the forest.

The blade sunk a small distance into her therion arm, absorbing the strike that would otherwise have struck Nezuko. Shinobu withdrew, surprised. Velvet remained there, standing between her and Nezuko, who had fallen unconscious at some point after being placed with her brother.

Strange. For a Hashira, the damage of that attack was really limited.

More importantly, though, back there…

Was it her imagination, or had Kanae unleashed a _malak arte?_

Sure, it was pathetically weak, but it _was_ an arte. She would need to talk to her about that once they had some privacy.

For the first time, Shinobu appeared shocked, her smile faltering slightly, katana lowered.

"Velvet!" Kanae was at her side in an instant, despite the small amount of malevolence radiating out from her arm. "Are you alright?"

"Shinobu!" Giyu had his own katana at the ready, facing his fellow Hashira for a moment, before he spun back toward Velvet. "Wait – no, Shinobu's katana –"

Kanae's eyes widened. "Wisteria! She coats her blade with poison! Velvet, don't –"

Ah. That explained a lot, really.

She couldn't help it, she chuckled.

That, of course, made all those observing her confused, startled, and more than a little guarded. For a few seconds, they just watched her uncomprehendingly.

Kanae was the first to realise what just happened, having been privy to some aspects of her origins.

"Oh… right," she deadpanned. "Demon from another world."

"I take it that something was supposed to happen," Velvet said for the benefit of the others. "Sorry to disappoint."

"But… how?" Shinobu seemed lost for words. "My poison…"

"Doesn't work on me, it seems." Velvet shrugged. "Now, then. Can we please agree to stop fighting?"

If she was being honest with herself, she would have retaliated against Shinobu had she been anyone other than Kanae's sister. Magilou would have scolded her and said that she was getting too soft for the Lord of Calamity.

She took a look at her arm. It hurt slightly, of course, but it was hardly anything close to past injuries she'd sustained. Without Phi and his healing artes around, though, she was reminded of just how vulnerable she could be.

"Shinobu." Giyu cut in curtly. "Stand down. You know that Kagaya hopes to speak with her."

She looked uncertain, but did so hesitantly. Good.

Now then…

"Kagaya?" Velvet asked curiously, shifting her arm back to its normal state. The bandages were slightly stained with blood from her attack.

Giyu didn't answer her. Kanae, however, did.

"He's our leader. I think it's a good idea to meet him," she explained, then looked at her with concern. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Hmm. So the equivalent of the _Shepherd_ wanted to meet her, did he?

How to proceed…

"He didn't say anything about the other two demons," Shinobu pointed out abruptly. "We need to kill them."

"Please!" Tanjiro pleaded from where he lay on the ground, still struggling to stand. "She's my sister!"

"Still –"

Suddenly, a few crows flew past the canopy overhead, resting on the branches of nearby trees.

"_MESSAGE! MESSAGE!_" They cawed.

… Kanae didn't mention that their crows could _talk._

"_Kamado Tanjiro and the demon Kamado Nezuko are to be taken into custody and brought back to headquarters! Kamado Tanjiro and the demon Kamado Nezuko are to be taken into custody and brought back to headquarters!"_ They continued cawing. "_The Demon Girl with the Red Arm is to be allowed free passage, but humbly requested for a meeting in person!"_

She twitched slightly. Hearing that title from Giyu was horrible enough; listening to that from the scratchy cawing of crows was worse.

They flew in circles around all those present, repeating the same message over and over. The Demon Slayers looked at her, waiting for her response.

_No mention of the spider demon._ Velvet looked behind her, and saw how she was trembling with fear.

… fine, then.

"Can I communicate with it?" she asked, gesturing at the nearest crow.

"They can relay messages," Giyu told her. "Why do you ask?"

Excellent.

"I'm willing to meet with your boss," she said, pausing momentarily, noting the surprise on the faces of all the assembled Demon Slayers. "On one condition." She pointed at the demon, and continued speaking. "I take her with me. She gets promised to be left alone as well, on the condition that she doesn't attack anyone of your Corps without aggravation. If she kills anyone, I'll take responsibility."

"That's –"

"Take it or leave it. Relay my message, please."

The crow tilted its head to the side once, staring at her for several seconds, before cawing loudly and flying away from the forest.

"Are you sure about that?" Giyu asked seriously. "The blood of anyone she kills will be on your hands."

"My answer hasn't changed since the last time you asked me that," she said dryly. "I've already dug my own grave."

"Velvet…" Kanae whispered.

"I take it that we just wait for a response, then?"

Giyu nodded slowly, then began looking over Tanjiro's injuries. Tanjiro gazed at her with an unreadable expression. She still didn't quite know what the connection between those two were.

Ah well. Something else to consider later. Velvet walked over to the demon, who was staring at her with confusion, relief, gratitude and fear.

What a mess.

"Why are you doing this?" the demon finally spoke.

"Hmm?"

"Why help me?" Her voice trembled. "You could have just walked away, let them kill me, but you – why?"

"Not every demon is a self-obsessed control freak like Rui, you know."

"That's not what I mean!" she burst out, glaring at her. "_Why_ are you _helping_ me?"

"That's a loaded question," Velvet sighed, moving to sit down with her back against a tree, left knee bent while her right was extended, resting her bandaged therion arm on her raised knee. "Why you in particular? Why help anyone at all?"

Velvet stared out past her, eyes unfocused, thinking about all her past experiences; everything that had made her into a therion, into the Lord of Calamity. "I told you earlier that I know what it's like to feel trapped, like Miyuki did, and probably yourself. I know what it's like to be labelled as a monster, and to be forced to do things you may not _want_ to do."

She killed Oscar, in front of Teresa's eyes. Then, she killed her, too. All for the sake of vengeance, to stop Artorius.

Could Velvet honestly say that she was any better than the man she loathed?

"If I'm being truthful with you, I'm _tired_ of it." She stared at her hand, entirely insatiable, ever-churning and pulsing with sinister power, covered it bandages though it may be. "I don't _want_ to kill. I don't _want_ to eat. So much death could have been avoided, if the world was just slightly different."

If it had been her and Laphi that night, rather than Celica and her unborn son, would Arthur have remained Arthur?

"I've fought for my own selfish reasons for a long time. I was a blade without a sheathe. Maybe I still am," she pondered. "But a friend of mine opened my eyes. He always saw the good in people, naively innocent though he was."

She smiled faintly at the thought of Phi. _Brave, innocent Phi._

"Maybe I see a little of myself in you. Maybe I don't." She shrugged, finally looking at the demon. From the looks of things, she had been listening to her words attentively. "But as I told Rui earlier, do I really _need_ a reason?"

"You…" the demon said, her voice trailing off, not knowing what to say.

Fine. They lapsed into silence for a while, and she watched as Giyu slowly helped Tanjiro to stand, bringing over a wooden box of some sort to the younger Demon Slayer. Shinobu simply stood there, observing everyone else silently, while invisible to all, Kanae was just staring at her sister.

Good for her. She knew a little of what that must feel like, even though the part of Innominat that was Laphi and the dream of the ideal world she had with him couldn't at all replace the real Laphicet Crowe.

The demon was fidgeting uncomfortably, eyes darting about, as though looking for any escape route. That wouldn't be a good decision, since there _were_ two Hashira there, besides Velvet herself. Her nerves were on full display, as they waited for the response from Kagaya.

Soon enough, Tanjiro had his sister placed inside the box, strapping it over his back, while Giyu supported him from the side. Shinobu was still just standing there.

No one was speaking.

This was getting awkward.

"What is your name, anyway?" Velvet turned to ask the demon, breaking the silence.

"Huh?" she started, but replied quickly. "I'm the Older Sister Spider Demon –"

"That's your title," Velvet interrupted bluntly, unamused. "I'm asking for your name."

Besides, what kind of silly name was that? She could see why some idiots had termed her the Demon Girl with the Red Arm now.

"I don't have one –"

"Find one for yourself, then."

"I can't –" She flinched at the glare that Velvet gave her. "I'm – my name…"

"My name..." She thought for a moment. "My name is Aneko."

Some distance away, she could hear Tanjiro burst into a coughing fit, while Kanae snorted. Giyu and Shinobu didn't obviously react, although they seemed to be fighting a silent war between a tug on their lips and cutting down all the demons currently in the clearing at once.

Eavesdroppers, the lot of them.

She couldn't blame them, though. Aneko just meant _Older_ _Sister_, right? That seemed uninspired, but it would do.

"What about you?" the newly-christened Aneko asked tentatively. She stared at her for a moment, Aneko squirming slightly under her gaze, but acquiesced.

"Velvet."

Aneko looked at her curiously, while the Demon Slayers did better to hide their obvious intrigue. Hard to blame them, since her name didn't exactly fit Japan. Their naming conventions seemed similar to those from where Rukurou's family hailed from.

"_MESSAGE! MESSAGE!"_

The return of the crows thankfully prevented what would have been another awkward silence. She had to give it to the Demon Slayers, their communication systems were efficient. The sylphjays of Aifread's pirate crew might have found their match at last.

"_The Demon Girl with the Red Arm's request is granted! The Demon Girl with the Red Arm's request is granted! She and the demon under her protection are to be brought to headquarters free from harm!"_

Well, her mental image of Kagaya went up a point. Perhaps he might be better than the Shepherd Artorius.

There was, of course, a chance that this was a trap, in which case they would find that luring her into one was going to be a very big mistake. She had no illusions that there was a high chance she could be killed, now that her companions weren't around, but at the very least she knew she could take a few down with her.

"Right, then." She stood up. "Shall we get moving?"

Giyu nodded, taking initiative. "We can follow the path out. It's going to be daybreak, soon."

Sure enough, the first rays of sun were starting to pierce through the trees, lighting up footpaths that hadn't been clearly visible before. She readied herself to move, taking a single step –

Then, she heard a terrifying, ear-piercing scream from behind her.

_Daybreak. Sunlight._

Was that why she had been so fearful, earlier_?_

"NO!" Aneko screeched. Velvet had already whirled around, rushing up to her side. Her flesh was practically _melting_ off, the skin of her face turning into ash. Flesh and malevolence both were being burnt, destroyed. It was almost like how it was when her claw devoured a daemon.

It didn't make sense. Her malevolence didn't burn in sunlight. Why –

No, that didn't matter right now. She looked around quickly. No shadows that were free from sunlight. Tanjiro's box didn't have any more space.

"HELP! PLEASE!"

Already, she was beginning to dissipate.

Wait. _Her malevolence didn't burn in sunlight._

_Ideas…_

If this was like her consumption, then maybe, just _maybe – _

"Aneko!" Velvet was already in motion, her therion arm on full display. "There's a chance to save you, but I need you to listen to me!"

"IT HURTS!"

"Velvet?" Kanae spoke, rushing toward her, but Velvet interrupted her.

"The rest of you, stay back!" She began expelling malevolence from her arm, shaping it into a dark, purple orb, the same way she had seen Melchior and later Innominat perform. "I need you to remain calm! Don't let the malevolence overpower you!"

With that, she _shot_ the ball of pure, unadulterated malevolence toward Aneko, siphoned from the thousands of daemons and humans she had devoured.

The moment it made contact, Aneko arched over backward, her screams of anguish and agony only intensifying. Her flesh was being simultaneous burnt and regenerated, the malevolence that Velvet had introduced reintegrating itself into the demon that was Aneko.

It was working, but…

"IT BURNS! I can't –" A shroud of darkness fell over her, and her screams took on a guttural quality. "_ARGH_!"

"Don't lose control of yourself," Velvet urged, eyeing her carefully. "Hatred, despair, greed, conceit, obsession, lust, cowardice, and selfishness. Don't let any of those overpower you!"

"_It's… overwhelming… I can't…"_

Her very form was changing, stretching and expanding, shrinking and rotating, a swirling vortex of darkness forming around her. She had stopped dissipating into nothingness, but now she was facing an entirely different kind of struggle.

"She's losing control!" Giyu shouted, his calm demeanour lost. "Whatever you're doing –"

"Not yet!" Velvet snapped. "Aneko! Listen up! If you can't go through with this, if you can't rein in the malevolence, then you'll _never _be free! This is your first test!"

"_**FreEdOm…**_**" **her voice was distorted, altered, but there was a tone of hope, mixed with anguish. "_**It hurts**__…"_

The darkness grew. Aneko's voice turned more guttural, shrieking with gibberish.

No good.

"Think of who you are! Who you _want _to be!" Velvet grabbed a nascent hand, its texture bizarre underneath her own, shifting and squirming as it constantly reshaped. "From here on out, you decide your own fate!"

"Velvet…" Was that Tanjiro that spoke, or was that Kanae? It was hard to tell, with the swirling winds all around her coming from the vortex of darkness that was Aneko.

"Stay in control!" she encouraged amidst the frantic growling and screaming, two voices coming from within the maelstrom of darkness. "You can do this!"

The darkness was condensing. She was losing control. Velvet knew that if it continued on like this, she would have no choice but to devour it whole, and Aneko with it.

"COME ON!"

For several tense moments, the darkness continued growing.

Velvet closed her eyes tightly, her claw raised, steeling herself to cut her down.

"_Birds fly…"_

What?

The words came softly, gently, a contrast to the other sinister and bestial voice it was at war with.

"…_because…"_

"Aneko!"

"…_because they want to fly!"_

Something changed. The darkness was morphing, moving inward, turning into a vaguely humanoid figure. Its intensity was lessening slightly, hues of colours other than pure black appearing within…

"_My name… is… Aneko…_"

Wrapped within a faint cocoon of purple malevolence, there was a body of a child, her mouth open with fury.

"**I AM ANEKO!"**

With that final cry, the veil of malevolence faded, and in its place was a girl, shorter than Aneko had been previously. Her hair was a dark black, reaching down to her shoulders, not at all like the white it had been, and her eyes were a vivid red, not the milky white of before. Even her _clothes_ had changed, now a brown kimono, not the white it had been.

The entire process had been experimental, but even still…

_What the hell?_

"Aneko?" Velvet spoke, uncertainly, her therion arm inactive. "What happened to you?"

"I…" she looked around, first at Velvet, then the Demon Slayers who were drawing closer, and finally at her hands. Her eyes widened, tears falling. "I'm… me…"

"What?"

"This is how I was before… before Rui changed me…"

_Changed?_

"You're in control, then?"

She nodded. "I feel… different," she said uneasily. "What did you do?"

"Brief explanation? I made you into a demon, again." She ignored the shocked reactions from the Demon Slayers behind her. "I don't know how Muzan does it, but I suspect that for some reason, the malevolence he uses for his transformation burns in sunlight. When it integrates into your flesh, _everything_ disappears into nothingness when exposed to sunlight."

"Malevolence? I heard you say that as well, earlier…"

"I'll explain later," she waved off the question. "Any other changes you noticed?"

"I…" her eyes narrowed in concentration, palms held out for a moment. Then, she started with obvious panic. "I've lost my Blood Demon Art!"

"What?" Shinobu finally spoke. "How is that possible? It has to be a lie –"

"No!"

"When did you first come to use the Blood Demon Art?" Velvet asked.

"It was after Rui… after he gave me his blood…"

"Blood?"

Aneko nodded. "We gain power when given blood from any of the Twelve Moons, or by Kibutsuji Muzan himself –"

Abruptly, she stopped speaking, eyes wide.

The Demon Slayers saw the reason why first.

They waited. One second. Two.

Nothing happened.

"You said his name," Giyu spoke.

"That's the second time you said that." Velvet still didn't understand what the big deal was. "Why does it mean anything?"

"Demons die if they call out Muzan's name or divulge any information on him," Shinobu said, studying Aneko intently. "By birthing demons with his blood and giving them power, he has control over them. That's the way his curse has always been."

"The sense of danger and peril from saying it is gone," Aneko said. "I can say his name. I can say _Kibutsuji's _name..."

Wait, that sounded a lot like –

"He implanted an _oath_ into his blood?!"

Besides that, he transmitted _malevolence _through his blood? Was that even possible?

"An 'oath'?" Giyu asked, then regarded her with narrowed eyes. "And you claimed you can make demons, earlier, just like Kibutsuji. Just _who_ are you, Velvet?"

She groaned. The situation with Aneko was resolved, now, but it seemed that more and more issues were piling up.

"Aneko is the first time I've tried, but let's leave the explanations for later. I really don't want to have to go over everything repeatedly," she said. "Kagaya's offer is still open, right?"

Her attempt at humour wasn't well-received. Only Kanae, the one no one else could see or hear, laughed weakly.

Well, she tried.

"Let's get going," she said. "Aneko, stick with me. You'll need to remain in control all the time, at least for the near future. It takes effort, but it will feel a lot more natural over time."

She remembered how it had been in the most fortified cell on Titania. How she had remained locked there, deep beneath the ground, mastering and controlling the power of her therion aspects. The first few months had been tough, but the thought of one day achieving vengeance for Laphi's death had steeled her conviction.

Tanjiro and Giyu looked like they had more questions, but they held them back, for now. Giyu nodded, then began to lead the way out. Kanae flitted over to the other side of her from where Aneko was walking.

"You really make life interesting, huh?"

She turned and glared at her silently for a moment.

"Right, right. No acting like an insane lunatic." Kanae laughed to herself, then adopted an expression of seriousness. "That aside, I'm sorry about my sister. I don't know why she's changed so much…"

Oh, Velvet knew why. Kanae died to a demon.

Velvet understood very well what it was like to desire vengeance.

She nodded silently at Kanae, offering a faint smile. She returned the gesture, and together the party made their way down the mountain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Next few chapters are, uh... underwhelming.**

* * *

By the time they arrived at the mansion that served as the headquarters for the Demon Slayer Corps, most of the remaining Hashira were already waiting in attendance at the entrance.

"They're all here!" Kanae squealed excitedly, running up to the friends she had left behind after her death, flitting between them all as she spoke. "Mitsuri, Gyomei, Kyojuro, Tengen and Muichiro! Oh, and Obanai is perched up on that tree; that sly serpent!"

Velvet watched the scene with slight amusement. The former Hashira certainly was in an excitable mood.

"Only Sanemi isn't here, then? I wonder where he is?" she pondered for a moment, then turned toward Velvet, her eyes gleaming brilliantly. "You'll love them all, Velvet! They're all nice people!"

She would be the judge of that. Already, she could feel the glares being directed toward their party, focused primarily on herself and Aneko, who was shying away from them behind her, squirming slightly.

Tanjiro had been briefed of the situation during their trek back. He knew that he was being put on trial for traveling with his demon sister – something Velvet vehemently disagreed with – but hadn't made any move to escape from his predicament. He had earlier told Giyu that nothing could stop him from being apart from Nezuko.

Shinobu had been absent during their journey, having had to tend to the other wounded Demon Slayers. Apparently, she was a medical expert of some sort, specialising in pharmaceuticals and poisons. Still, she had evidently somehow managed to race them back, since she was now standing alongside the rest of her peers, watching on as their party stepped toward those already gathered at the headquarters.

"So this is the Demon Slayer, huh?" the Hashira wearing a white head-wrap and a sleeveless version of their uniform commented, idly touching the two swords on his back. ('_That's Tengen!'_ Kanae provided helpfully.) "Hmm… they said that he was travelling with a demon in tow, so I was expecting someone more flamboyant." He regarded Tanjiro for a moment longer, before sighing deeply. "But he's just a boring-looking fellow, hmm?"

Then, with marginally more interest, he inspected Velvet and Aneko. "And these are the two demons that the master allowed to be brought in?" He shook his head. "And here I was thinking that there would be a flamboyant-looking demon."

"Yes! Indeed!" the one with flame-like hair (Kyojuro?) said, his words brisk and cheerful. "And now, we'll put them on trial!"

The Stone Hashira towered over the rest, his massive frame formidable and intimidating, yet his words were gentle and tinged with emotion. "So unfortunate… that one as young as himself would bear such misfortune…"

The rest were silent, although the pink-haired Hashira was squirming excitedly as she looked at each of the newcomers.

As far as first impressions went, they certainly were a colourful bunch.

Hell, they could even match up with her own ragtag band of misfits made up of daemons, an exorcist, malakhim and a witch, along with the rest of Aifread's motley pirate crew.

Oh, and a few normin and therions as well. And a prince, for a period of time.

Yeah, she was definitely going to blame this on Eizen's curse.

"The master will want to discuss the matter of the demons personally, but why don't we handle the trial of Kamado Tanjiro before that, hmm?" Shinobu spoke up, and was greeted by a chorus of assent from most of the Hashira present. Giyu had remained silent.

Shinobu nodded, then stepped up toward Tanjiro. "Before we start the trial, why don't you explain the crime you've committed?"

"There's no need for a trial!" Kyojuro cut in brusquely, his words spirited, a beaming smile on his face. "Protecting a demon is a clear violation of the code! He should be executed immediately, along with the demon he travels with! These other two demons should be executed as well!"

"Ahhh?" Kanae made a confused sound. "Wait, no!"

_An eccentric bunch indeed. _Her impression of the organisation that Kanae belonged to was souring by the second. She could feel Aneko stiffen beside her at that proclamation.

"Doesn't your code also say that demons burn in sunlight?" Velvet commented sarcastically, not actually expecting a response. "And that they can't say Kibutsuji Muzan's name or something like that?"

"Yes! That's true!" He stamped a fist onto an open palm, his wide grin never once faltering. "I rescind my suggestion of immediate execution! I apologise! We shall hold a trial to decide on whether execution is necessary! Thank you!"

…what?

"That's Kyojuro for you," Kanae said with fond exasperation, her spectral hand moving through his body as she gestured next to him. "Don't worry, he's like that with everyone."

"Why are we even letting him and Tomioka stand there without restraints after breaking Corps rules? Why aren't we putting Tomioka on trial, too, when he knowingly allowed the boy to be part of the Corps?" the one with a serpent wrapped around his neck spoke, as he languished up on a tree. "And even if these demons are brought here at the master's request, is it safe for them to be here with their arms intact? Shouldn't we chop them off?"

"H- he doesn't mean that! Really!" Kanae quickly assured Velvet, flustered, rushing back to her side. "They're really friendly people once you get to know them!"

Velvet raised an eyebrow. To be honest, she was still feeling amused at all this.

"Now, now, Obanai," Shinobu said placatingly. "We can always come up with a penalty for Giyu later, and the demons are here at the master's request. Let's deal with the matter of the boy first." She smiled softly, although Velvet knew how empty the gesture was. "So, Kamado Tanjiro, why don't you tell us why you're travelling with a demon despite being a Demon Slayer?"

Velvet was curious about this himself. Tanjiro had proven himself to be worthy of respect after his showing back on the mountain, having seen demons as _people_ rather than viewing the rift between human and demon as a binary division. The malevolence around Nezuko also felt _off, _for lack of a better term, and she wondered just what circumstances had led to both of them being where they were today.

"She's my – Nezuko is my younger sister!" Tanjiro spoke, wincing as he strained his injuries when he straightened his posture, addressing the assembled Hashira. By his feet, the box keeping his sister out of sunlight was placed on the ground. "Two years ago, when I was away selling charcoal, my family was attacked by a demon… when I returned, they were all dead – except – except for Nezuko!"

Kanae gasped loudly, although no one else heard her. She moved to grab supportively at him, but her hands simply moved through his body. His words were flowing out quickly, a small amount of desperation in his voice. Velvet could understand that.

She remembered how she had felt on the day of the Opening. How desperate and full of terror she had been when she woke up to behold the Scarlet Night, Laphicet missing from his room, only to find that the townsfolk of Aball had been turned to daemons –

"Only Nezuko remained alive, but she was turned into a demon. But even then – _even then_, she never devoured anyone! For two years, she's been her usual, gentle self. She's never attacked a human, and she never will!"

"A demon that doesn't attack humans? Absurd," Obanai scoffed. "If you're family, of course you'll protect her, even if she's a demon. How can we take your word for it? I, for one, don't believe a word you're saying."

"Please, listen to me!" Tanjiro continued earnestly, looking around for any sign of support. "I became a swordsman to find a cure for Nezuko! Together, I know that we can –"

"You're telling us that she hasn't eaten a human for two years?" Tengen interjected disbelievingly. "How can we trust that that is true? Prove it to us!"

…how did one even prove the _absence_ of an act?

But if what Tanjiro wanted was to revert a demon to a human…

"I'm not sure if that's possible, Tanjiro," Velvet spoke, and all eyes turned to her. She focused only on Tanjiro, who seemed taken aback. "Turning someone into a demon is easy. Reverting a demon to a human, on the other hand –"

"You're saying you can turn someone into a demon?" Obanai asked dangerously.

She blinked. Had they not been briefed about what she had technically done with Aneko? Velvet cocked her head toward Shinobu in a silent question.

The Insect Hashira shrugged. "We were going to wait for you to discuss the matter with the master before telling the rest."

_Would have been helpful to be told that earlier. _Velvet sighed.

"Well, I can." She raised her voice against the shocked reactions that followed at that declaration. "Any one of you, in fact. It wouldn't even be difficult."

She was pretty sure if she pulsed the area with malevolence as fast as she could, it would be thick enough to convert any of them into daemons, no matter how so-called 'pure' they were. Sure, she might die in doing so, but the fact of the matter remained.

"Why haven't you?" Giyu asked, finally breaking his silence from where he stood away from the rest.

"…do I need a reason _not_ to do something?" She shook her head, then turned her attention back to Tanjiro. "Anyway – Tanjiro – it's technically possible, but I'm limited in what I can do, and I doubt anyone else will be able to do it either."

"Wait, _technically _possible?" Kanae spoke, joining in the outbursts from the more spirited members of the Hashira. "You never told me that!"

"What do you need to do to turn someone back from a demon?" Tanjiro's voice was so laced with hope, it was almost painful trampling that budding optimism into pieces.

"The reverse of what I did with Aneko on the mountain." She gestured toward the demon girl, who was keeping as quiet as she could, no doubt intimidated by the legendary Hashira. Any one of those could probably more than easily kill her in an instant. "Unfortunately, that's not something I'm capable of doing."

Drawing attention to Aneko served a different purpose for Velvet. _She's under my protection_, her unsaid message went.

"Even if – even if she can't turn back into a human, Nezuko and I can still fight demons together! She can be a Demon Slayer too, and –"

"These are the demons?" a gruff voice spoke up, as the sole remaining Hashira finally joined their group. He was a white-haired man, his gown deliberately left open, revealing a toned body covered by scars, a jagged series of them running along his face. "And this is the moron Demon Slayer traveling with a demon?"

"That's Sanemi!" Kanae introduced, then she winced. "He can come across as a little rude, but… he means well! Really!"

He walked right up to their group, kicking the box that held Nezuko unceremoniously. Velvet narrowed her eyes, as Aneko tensed up beside her, while Tanjiro started for a moment.

"So these are the two demons under Kagaya's protection?" He eyed them disdainfully, and Velvet met his eyes with a level glare. He scoffed. "They don't look like much to me."

Shinobu's face darkened at his introduction. "Shinazugawa, please don't act out of line. We are holding a trial, here."

"Peh," he spat contemptuously. He tapped a foot against Nezuko's box, speaking to Tanjiro. "What was that crap you were saying? You and your sister, Demon Slayers? You know what we call that?"

There was a dangerous glint in his eyes, then –

"_We call it delusional, you idiot!"_

His sword arm moved.

Velvet was already reacting.

_SCHINK!_

Her wrist blade was extended, her arm in motion, deflecting his katana aside from where it had been about to pierce straight into the box.

"Velvet!" Kanae exclaimed.

"_Let. Her. Go."_ Velvet spoke coldly, eyeing his every move as she would an enemy.

_Never waver once your sword is drawn._

"Nezuko! Velvet!" Tanjiro shouted, stepping up toward them both, but Velvet held her bandaged arm out in a gesture to stop.

She knew his type.

"Oh? So the demon finally shows its true colours?"

"Stop it, Shinazugawa! The master will be arriving soon!" Giyu snapped.

"He won't complain if I rid this world of a demon like this one!"

Again, he reached for his sword.

Velvet knew this was going to be serious. The tension in his posture told her volumes.

"_Breath of the Wind – First Style: Dust Whirlwind Cutter!"_

He dashed toward her, his katana moving in a swirling cyclone of strikes –

"Binding Frost!"

Her blade coated itself in ice, shards dancing in the air before her, and she matched speed for speed, darting in all directions as mist spread rapidly away from her in wake of the ice elemental arte.

He was _good_. Faster than most she had fought against, but she had faced the likes of an armatised Oscar and the wind malak Zaveid, whose _Outlaw Barrage_ made everything else look slow in comparison. Sanemi had power, but even then it still wasn't quite at the level of the most masterful of swordsmen like Shigure and Artorius.

Then, both fighters disengaged with their final strikes, forcing each other backward, each landing gracefully some distance away. In the middle, shards of ice shattered against the ground, a small pool of water forming, as cool mist slowly began fading into nothingness.

Had he been holding back? Or had this been his true limits?

It had been a lot harder trying to _only_ block his attacks, than going for killing strikes herself. Were the openings in his attacks simply feints, baiting her to attack him in order to then decry her as a bloodthirsty demon? Were they even deliberate feints, or was he just unaware of those weaknesses she'd gleaned?

She didn't know, but there really wasn't any way to find out, either.

"Velvet! Are you alright!" Kanae ran up to her, inspecting her from all angles. "I'm so sorry, I didn't think that Sanemi would just – that he would attack Nezuko like that –"

"Shinazugawa!"

"Nezuko!" Tanjiro ran up to the box, clutching it protectively. "Velvet! Thank you! I –"

"What the _hell _was that?" she spoke to the Wind Hashira, discounting everyone else.

He didn't reply immediately, first carefully observing her, then running his eyes over the blade in his hands. "You're a dangerous one," he finally intoned, a message of warning clear in his voice. "I'm keeping an eye on you."

She was about to respond in kind, when a pair of voices rang out.

"The master has arrived."

Immediately, all those assembled turned toward the entrance to the mansion, and even the brash Wind Hashira stiffened. It seemed even he held some degree of respect toward this 'Kagaya'.

Slowly, he stepped forth.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki wore a contrasting black kimono with a white kimono jacket on the outside, his demeanour serene and calm, but it was his _face_ that captured Velvet's attention. Half his face was covered an ugly purple, look as though the flesh itself was decaying and rotting, but his eyes bore a hint of wisdom and serenity.

"I'm glad that you all could come, my beloved children and guests."

He swept his gaze over the Hashira first, then at Tanjiro and his sister, before finally fixing it on Velvet and Aneko.

Wait… no, his eyes weren't quite pointing in the right direction –

_He's blind._

It was amazing, then, that he could sense them at all.

He took a moment, head turning around, before his lavender eyes widened fractionally. He bowed deeply toward Velvet, and she would freely admit to being stunned by the gesture.

"I apologise for the treatment you have received, when I have promised that you would be free from harm. Please, allow me to make amends."

Well, then. Not quite an Artorius after all.

"Don't worry about it," Velvet grunted, aware of just how many eyes were on her. Then, because she would hardly turn down an opportunity to take the Wind Hashira down a peg, after the stunt he had just pulled, she added, "Believe me, I've faced worse."

"I thank you for your understanding and forgiveness," he said, bowing once more, before looking over at the group again. "It pleases me that we've made it to our semiannual Hashira meeting with no personnel changes."

She felt something tug at her shirt. She turned, only to find Aneko gesturing subtly to the side. Velvet looked to see what had caught her attention –

The Hashira were all kneeling before their leader, head lowered to face the ground in deference. Even _Kanae_ had done so, even though no one could see her. Tanjiro hastily followed suit a moment later.

Well, she wasn't one for ceremony. Besides, she wasn't part of their organisation. She continued staring at Kagaya, and by her side Aneko looked around with clear worry, but remained standing.

"I am pleased to see you in good health as well, master. I fervently pray for your continued good fortune." Sanemi's tone was hardly the same as the brash one it had been earlier, when he had been deliberately provoking a fight and then actually meeting Velvet in a brief clash, although she liked to believe that both parties were holding back.

"Thank you, Sanemi."

"If I may, master," Sanemi began saying. "Would you mind enlightening us as to why this swordsman in our ranks, Kamado Tanjiro, is allowed to freely be accompanied by a demon?"

"Right," Kagaya agreed readily, his words soothing. "I apologise for not informing all of you about the situation earlier. Regarding the matter of Tanjiro and Nezuko, I have sanctioned their situation, and it would be my deepest wish that you accept it."

The Wind, Sound, Stone, Flame and Serpent Hashira immediately raised their objections. Of the remaining members, only the Love Hashira supported Kagaya (although Velvet couldn't quite fathom _why_), while Giyu and Shinobu had remained silent throughout. Invisible to everyone but Velvet, Kanae looked around uneasily at each of her former colleagues in turn.

Kagaya listened to them patiently, before finally speaking up once they had quieted. "The letter, please," he addressed one of the girls attending to him.

She took out a piece of parchment from within her robes, and began to speak. "This is a letter received from a former Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki. I shall read an abridged version."

Clearing her throat slightly, she began reciting.

"'Please allow Tanjiro to be accompanied by his sister, a demon. Because of her resilient mental strength, Nezuko has not lost her human emotions. Even in a starved state, she never devoured humans, and this has held true more than two years later. Although the situation seems somewhat far-fetched, it is an indisputable fact. In the event that Nezuko does assault a human, Tanjiro Kamado, as well as Sakonji Urokodaki and Giyu Tomioka will atone by committed seppuku.' That is what the letter says."

_Seppuku?_ That seemed a little overboard.

Still, though, her respect for Giyu and this newly-named Sakonji just rose.

"So what if they commit seppuku? It's no guarantee at all that this demon wouldn't bare her true fangs!" Sanemi snapped, finally losing the air of respect he had put up for his leader.

"Shinaguzawa is right!" Kyojuro agreed, entirely to the point. "I agree whole-heartedly! If she kills and devours humans, there's no coming back from that! It won't bring back the people who were killed!"

"You do have a point. There is a chance that she may attack and kill humans," Kagaya acquiesced, but continued speaking. "But we also can't prove that she will attack other humans. I believe it is worth considering the fact that Nezuko has refrained from devouring humans for more than two years, and that three people are willing to put their lives on the line for her."

_Nezuko,_ Velvet noted. Not the demon, or the monster. Kagaya treated her as an individual.

She could see why Kanae respected him greatly.

"Also, there's something I wish to relay to all of you," he said. "Tanjiro here has met Kibutsuji."

Immediately, there was a flurry of reactions.

"What?"

"Did you battle him?"

"Impossible! No Hashira has ever seen him in person!"

"What powers does he have?"

Even Kanae looked surprised. Velvet raised her mental estimate of Muzan Kibutsuji's power. If these Hashira feared and respected him that much, he had to be a formidable opponent.

Kagaya raised a single finger to his lips, and immediately they fell silent.

"Kibutsuji has sent pursuers after Tanjiro, and now that he has revealed himself for the first time, I do not wish for the chance to slip us by," he told them. "I also believe something's happening to Nezuko that Kibutsuji never saw coming." Then, he turned to look at Velvet and Aneko. "I additionally believe that our guests here interest him greatly, since they have found a way to overcome his only weakness."

Regally, he gestured at the fact that they were standing in _sunlight_.

For a moment, they were all silent, but then –

"No, I don't understand, master." Sanemi took the opportunity to interject, and Velvet sensed that he was up to something. She narrowed her eyes with suspicion, ready to intervene if he tried anything like the previous stunt he pulled.

"I refuse to let a demon live, not after all that we Demon Slayers have gone through in battle! I refuse to sully the memories of all those we have lost in battle! Just a few years ago, Kanae Kocho, who should be standing here with us today, lost her life in battle against a demon! I refuse to allow not just one, but _three_ demons to walk freely among our ranks!"

The malak started at the mention of her name, then her expression grew downcast. Shinobu stiffened.

Sanemi stood up, slowly drawing his blade. Velvet prepared to intercept whatever he had planned –

Then, he sliced the back of his hand, holding it up.

"Master! I will prove it to you myself!"

_Disgusting._

Velvet wanted to intervene immediately, but Kanae was fervently shaking her head.

"Velvet, don't!" she urged.

"I apologise for my rudeness, master."

"Nezuko!"

Slowly, he dragged the box that held Nezuko over into the shade of the building. Then, he raised his katana once more –

"NEZUKO!" Tanjiro tried to rush forward, but Obanai quickly restrained him, forcing him to watch.

Velvet's wrist-blade extended in an open warning, her temper reaching its limit.

"_Back. Off_."

"Velvet!" Kanae shouted once more.

Sanemi, at least, seemed to get the message, scoffing loudly. He placed his blade back in its sheathe, kicked the box open forcefully, and began dripping his blood down onto the floor as Nezuko emerged.

Nezuko was shaking, glaring hatefully at Sanemi, saliva dripping down from the bamboo muzzle placed in her mouth.

"Come on demon! Have a taste of my blood!" Sanemi goaded.

She continued trembling, shaking violently, then turned away, eyes shut, a clear expression of disgust as she refused to fall to his provocation.

"Nezuko!" Tanjiro shouted, relief clear in his tone.

Velvet exhaled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in.

"Has the point been proven yet?" she asked sardonically. "Nezuko clearly has no taste for your blood."

The Wind Hashira turned back to face her, a smirk on his face. "Not quite. There are two more demons here. I hear that these ones have killed humans, too!"

Velvet thought the entire spectacle was a disgusting, but Aneko –

She turned to the side. Aneko was staring at the blood dripping down from his hand, transfixed, a steady stream of saliva running down from her lips. She seemed almost as though hypnotised, swaying on the spot, her legs shaking as though undecided between approaching and staying put.

_Damn._

Sanemi stepped toward her, his smirk widening, having noticed the far more susceptible target.

"What's wrong, demon? Don't you want to have a taste? My blood is right here, you know?"

Aneko took a single tentative step forward, then stepped back, swaying on the spot. She raised her feet, moving it slightly, then seemed to change her mind mid-step, tripping over and falling.

Sanemi lowered his hand to just in front of her face where she lay on the ground. "Come on! It's right here!"

"Aneko," Velvet said. She had no idea whether or not Aneko was truly listening right now, but if her words had managed to reach her back when she was fighting against being overwhelmed by malevolence, they had to be able to reach her now. "Remember what I told you. Your choices are yours to make."

"I…" she said, her gaze following Sanemi's hand.

"I…" Her mouth opened. The Wind Hashira gave a victorious smirk –

Then, impulsively, her hand moved to her mouth, and she bit down hard on it.

For a moment, there was stunned silence.

"Seems like even Aneko thinks your blood is disgusting," Velvet spoke with some relief. It seemed that Aneko did have at least some strength of will to back up her conviction for change from the night before.

Aneko withdrew her hand, a small chunk of flesh missing from the back of it, glaring defiantly at Sanemi with her own blood staining around her mouth.

"_I… won't…_ _eat it_!"

Sanemi stared at her, expression unreadable, before scoffing and returning to where he had been standing.

"Good job." Aneko turned to look at Velvet, startled. "A bit extreme, but you'll get there. Let me see your hand."

She took Aneko's hand gently, inspecting it carefully. It wasn't too deep. Even with the minor enhanced regeneration that daemons of Desolation had, it should heal over within a few hours. For the demons of this world…

Wait…

"You've lost your regeneration, too?" Velvet spoke. Immediately, Aneko turned to look at her hand, and the assembled Demon Slayers did likewise.

"I…" Aneko stared at it, momentarily lost. "I guess so…" She slumped over slightly.

"Hey." Velvet placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I don't regenerate, either."

"You don't?" Aneko spoke, surprised.

"You don't?" Some of the other Demon Slayers echoed her sentiments, but Velvet ignored them.

"Yeah. I'm guessing that that's another product of Muzan's blood." She grimaced. "It should still heal over faster than a normal human, but at least now you know to be careful."

_Or rather, possibly some aspect of this world's malevolence._ The naturally generated demons she fought on the Scarlet Night had regeneration as well, despite not being gifted by Muzan's blood. She wasn't about to suggest that yet, though, since she still wasn't sure whether all these Hashira could be trusted.

She knew she was putting a lot of her weaknesses on display here, openly admitting that she wasn't quite as durable as the demons of this world, but it was a gamble she was willing to take. She was attempting to make an effort to change, after all.

Besides, Kagaya at least seemed to be decent, and with how much they respected him, he could probably keep his Hashira in check.

"Yeah…" Aneko still sounded dismayed, but didn't pursue the topic further.

Just what other differences were there, now that Aneko had been essentially re-transformed into the daemons that Velvet was used to? Would she now have an aptitude for artes, rather than the Blood Demon Arts Aneko and the Demon Slayers had mentioned yesterday?

Something to consider, once all this was concluded. She foresaw that Aneko would be sticking by her side for quite some time, given the fact that she could hardly allow her to roam alone and run the risk of entering a berserk state if she failed to control her malevolence.

Velvet looked back toward Kagaya and his Hashira, who were observing their exchange silently. "I trust that we can all accept that Aneko isn't going to eat humans any time soon?"

Sanemi was silent for several seconds, before delivering a final warning, his voice intoned with an undercurrent of danger. "You're walking down a dangerous road, demon. Even if the master thinks that you're safe, I'm keeping my eyes on you two."

Fair enough. Velvet nodded.

"Right!" Kagaya spoke, his soothing voice somehow alleviating the tension that had built up since Sanemi began that ridiculous display of his. "If you are willing, would it be possible to tell us about any information you can provide?"

Velvet considered her options for a moment. She wouldn't object to an exchange of information, after all that she had already done in the two days she had in this world. Still, though, she wasn't keen to go through a thorough explanation of everything she knew about demons, malevolence, and every bit of miscellaneous trivia surrounding those fields, especially when many of these Hashira seemed to be dead-set on their views pertaining to demons.

Kagaya seemed to be a reasonable one, and Kanae did vouch for him. He also _did _promise her safe passage, even if his subordinate had disobeyed that soon enough. Even the next most temperate of the lot, Giyu, had demonstrated an unwillingness to forgive any demon who killed a human, reasons be damned.

If so, then…

"I don't mind sharing the information that I know regarding demons and the Scarlet Night from two days ago," she said slowly, and noted how the Hashira straightened at that. No doubt they hadn't been able to uncover any information regarding the phenomenon that had never before been seen in this world. "I do, however, have a few conditions."

"You're in no position to –"

"Sanemi." Kagaya cut in, simultaneously firm and yet gentle, and the Wind Hashira quieted, simmering with silent anger. "May I ask what conditions you have in mind?"

"I have the right to decide what information to share, and to ask some details from you in return." Obanai was about to interrupt, but Kagaya held up a hand. "We discuss the information privately, along with a few other individuals of my choice."

"Oh?" Kagaya seemed intrigued. "Who do you have in mind?"

Theatrically, Velvet looked over toward the Hashira, sweeping her gaze over them…

…then disregarded them entirely, gesturing to those standing away from that group. "Kamado Tanjiro, Kamado Nezuko, and Aneko."

"Ehhh?" Tanjiro spoke up, surprised.

Heh. After all that time spent with Magilou, even she learnt a trick or two.

Of course, she would adamantly refuse to admit the time Magilou had dragged her to her so-called comedy act ever happened.

Or that time she had been forced to –

'_Act. Like. A. Dove.'_

– damn it. Even now, that memory still haunted her.

"Absurd!" Sanemi objected immediately, once her words sank in. Most of the others voiced their own apprehension. "Master, with all respect, I must raise my objections to this! Muzan's or not, this demon means to corner you alone for its own nefarious purposes!"

"Let the master decide, Shinazugawa," Shinobu spoke gently. Sanemi scoffed, but finally acquiesced. All eyes watched as Kagaya considered her request.

"Hmm…" Kagaya pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. My children, would you please direct our guests and dear Tanjiro and Nezuko to an appropriate room?"

By his side, one of his attendants nodded, the smiles on their faces never once faltering. Velvet had no idea what was going on there, but it didn't seem to be her place to pry.

She stepped forward, ignoring the vehement glares shot at her by several of the Hashira, Sanemi foremost among them. A short moment later, Aneko hurriedly trailed behind her, probably having weighed her options carefully and deciding that sticking with her was preferable to being stuck with the remaining Hashira. Tanjiro similarly only hesitated for a moment, before taking the box containing his sister, and quickly joined them both as they were led into the mansion itself.

Behind her, she could hear Kagaya address those under his charge. "Hashira, my beloved children, I apologise for the delay to our meeting. If you would please kindly wait for my return?"

Then, supported by the remaining girl, he too began to make his way through the mansion. Velvet was led past a series of corridors, before walking through a room partitioned by a sliding wooden door into another chamber, a tatami mat neatly laid down on the ground.

Within moments, they settled down in the room, Velvet sitting directly opposite Kagaya. The leader of the Demon Slayer Corps sat there patiently, the very picture of tranquillity, as his attendants brought in tea for himself and his guests.

To her left, Aneko was still fidgeting uncomfortably, although at least her nervousness had lessened somewhat. Her hand was still bloodied, but the flow of blood had stopped, haemostasis having occurred some time during their transit.

To Velvet's right, Tanjiro didn't make an effort to hide his obvious curiosity, alternating between looking at her, Aneko, Kagaya and around the room. Strangely enough, he was still sniffing the air every now and then with a furrow in his brows. Beside him, Nezuko had been let out from her box, although she was merely lying down with her arms spread out, unmoving, with her eyes wide open.

She didn't know if this was a normal occurrence, or demons of this world were just weird.

Unseen by everyone else, Kanae was standing by one corner of the room, silently observing the discussion that would take place. That was good. Velvet foresaw that she might be revealing more information than what she had already told the malak, and she really didn't want to have to repeat any more explanations in private.

Finally, Kagaya's attendants set down the tea in front each of the room's occupants, bowed deeply, and left, sliding the door shut behind them. Kagaya continued smiling encouragingly; an invitation for her to initiate the discussion.

Very well, then.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Velvet began. For someone equivalent to the Shepherd, Kagaya seemed to be a humble sort. "I hope this discussion will be fruitful."

"As do I. I am most grateful that you have agreed to come today. Please, whenever you are ready, tell us what you wish to share."

Where to begin, where to begin indeed? There was so much ground to cover. Malevolence, the Scarlet Night, daemons, malakhim; each of those topics were fundamentally connected with each other.

Speaking of malevolence, something Tanjiro mentioned the night before did strike her as odd…

"Before I start, I would like to ask Tanjiro something, if you don't mind."

"M- me?"

Kagaya nodded. "Please, go ahead."

She turned to face the novice Demon Slayer. "Yesterday, on the mountain, you mentioned that you could sense grief and regret. What did you mean by that?"

"Umm…" He scratched at his cheek. "Well, you know… I've always had a good sense of smell ever since I was growing up, right? I can smell things that other people can't, sometimes, and understand how they feel."

What?

Velvet liked to think that her sense of smell had been heightened ever since she lost her taste, but this was taking it up to another level.

It did explain why he kept sniffing at the air, at least.

"You can _smell_ emotions?" she asked, surprised. "What else can you pick up?"

"Well –" he spoke, opening his arms wide as he continued looking at her, gesturing wildly with his hands, face reddening slightly in mild embarrassment. "When I fight, I can smell the Opening Thread, you know? It's like – it's this line, that I know will be an opening to strike and connect my attack."

…seriously? His battle instincts were honed by _scent_?

"And then I can smell demons as well –"

"You can smell demons?" Velvet interrupted, an eyebrow raised. "Do I smell?"

There was a beat, as what she just asked sunk in. Then, realising how absurd her question sounded, she corrected herself. "I mean, can you detect that I'm a demon?"

"It's hard to describe," Tanjiro said. "You smell both human and not, but you also don't smell a lot like the other demons I've fought…"

He trailed off. Velvet frowned.

"What about Aneko?" Beside her, the demon flinched. "What does she smell like to you?"

"I was wondering about that, actually!" Tanjiro's face brightened, speaking excitedly. "Before, she smelled like all the other demons I've fought, but after you killed Rui, I could smell regret from her; and then after you changed her again, she started to smell like you!"

"I – I do?" Aneko blurted quickly, then looked down, not meeting anyone's eyes. Velvet really needed to deal with that soon. Her arm could very distinctly detect cowardice emanating from her.

It didn't take a genius to guess why. She had been taken from the life she knew and thrust into the company of a therion that could devour her in an instant, as well as Demon Slayers whose sole mission was to destroy beings like her.

Tanjiro's bobbed his head up and down quickly. "Yup! Before, it smelled a bit like sulfur and spiders, but now there's some kind of earthy smell, mixed with ash and lightning on a spring day!"

… again, Velvet was dumbfounded. What did that even _mean_?

Still, though, based on what Tanjiro was saying, could it be that…

"There's something I would like to try, if you don't mind," she said, directing the question more to Kagaya than Tanjiro. Best not to antagonise the leader of these Demon Slayers. "I want to activate my claw."

"Hmm?" Kagaya mused, then nodded. "Please, go ahead."

With permission granted, and a loud _squelch, _her therion arm burst free from underneath its bandages, a dull red glow eerily emanating from it. "Do you smell anything different?"

Tanjiro sniffed once, then whirled to face her. "The scent of ash and soot increased!"

She fed a little more malevolence into her arm from the infinite pit within that was technically part of Innominat, where everything that was consumed went. "And now?"

"It increased again! How do you do that?"

Interesting. She reverted her arm to her default state.

"You can smell malevolence."

Frankly, she was impressed. The amount she had expelled barely dissipated into the air, and there would need to be a lot more before transformation into a daemon could be achieved. Tanjiro's sense of smell was inhumanly keen.

"You mentioned malevolence yesterday, as well," Aneko finally spoke up, a burning curiosity in her eyes. "What is that?"

She couldn't blame her. If someone re-transformed her into a demon, she would want to know all that there was to know about what made the transformation possible.

"I'll explain soon," she assured all those present. "There's one more thing I'd like to try."

She nodded at Kanae, who had been watching on with keen interest, startling her briefly. Tanjiro and Aneko seemed confused by the gesture.

"Huh?" the dead Hashira asked. "What do you –" Her eyes widened. "You think he can _smell_ me?"

"Tanjiro," Velvet said, pointing. "Do you smell anything in that corner of the room?"

"Huh?" Unknowingly, he shared in the Flower Hashira's confusion. He seemed bewildered, but sniffed at the air, turning his head several times. Then, he furrowed his eyebrows, seemingly confused.

"Now that you mention it, there _is _a different scent there…" He stood up, walking slightly closer. All the while, Kagaya had been waiting patiently, but now he too seemed to look intrigued about where Velvet was taking this discussion.

Tanjiro roamed around slightly, sniffing every few steps, then paused less than a metre away from Kanae, looking directly at her. He raised a hand, gesturing into the air in front of him, and unknown to him, his fingers were directly passing through her body.

"The scent is strongest here," he described, unable to quite put what he wanted to say into words. "It smells like… flowers; spring flowers, the first bloom after a cold winter…"

Kanae was openly gaping, now, staring at him with shock.

Velvet was faring marginally better, honestly amazed at the feat he performed, although she remained stoic in her expression.

"What does it mean?" Tanjiro turned toward her, moving back to where he had been sitting.

Velvet gave a wry smile, directed both to him and Kanae.

"Congratulations, Tanjiro," she said. "It means you're resonant."

-o-o-o-

Ubuyashiki Kagaya was a man of humility, but he also knew that as the ninety-seventh leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, he was likely the man with the most knowledge on the ancient enemy of their organisation. He liked to think that he knew almost everything there was to know about demons.

Evidently, he did not.

He couldn't deny being curious about what the Demon Girl with the Red Hand had in mind, when she had requested to ask young Tanjiro a question and then for permission to release her demon hand. He couldn't see what she had done, blind as he was, but he could feel a change in _something_ indescribable as he did so.

Then, she had made mention of this 'malevolence', and he felt a sensation he hadn't experienced in a long time.

_Excitement._

This demon – no, this _person_ who suddenly arrived two nights ago on the day of the crimson moon appeared to possess much knowledge about demons. Here she was, willingly agreeing to meet up with him, and he could sense that she was being honest about being open to share information regarding their enemies since time long past.

He felt a surge of hope, that they may just be able to defeat Kibutsuji Muzan once and for all. If not during his time as the head of the Corps, then perhaps when his successor took over.

"Resonant? What do you mean?" Tanjiro asked, confusion in his voice. Ah, the young boy showed such great promise indeed.

"I'll get to that in a moment. For now, though, I will start by telling all of you some things about myself, the Scarlet Night, and demons. I'm going to ask that you keep this information to yourselves, except the parts that may be pertinent for your organisation to perform its duties. Please, leave your questions until I finish."

Kagaya nodded, the anticipation within welling. He didn't know _how_, but he could sense that everything he knew about demons was about to be shaken. His family had always been gifted with excellent foresight, despite the curse that claimed all of them as they grew up. He sensed Tanjiro acquiescing as well, and the demon Aneko gave her own agreement.

Aneko was a mystery to him. He was, of course, furious that a demon who had killed one of his _children_ would be walking freely, but he had the indescribable sensation that some change had occurred. There was now something different about her compared to other demons, much like the Demon Girl with the Red Hand was. Kamado Nezuko was different in her own way, too, but it was yet another sort of difference compared to those two.

He wondered if he was disrespecting their memories, by not demanding for Aneko to be killed for the lives she had taken? But another one of his precious children, Kanae Kocho, had always dreamed of a life where humans and demons could coexist peacefully. Would he, then, be disrespecting _her_ memory, if he were to pursue that path?

That contradiction always haunted him at moments like these. To him, all of them were his children, and he could not possibly favour one over the other.

Alas, he couldn't dwell on that line of thought. She had begun speaking.

"I suppose I should start with the elephant in the room," she said. "First off: I'm not from Japan, or anywhere from this world."

He started at that admission. What did she mean by that? He kept silent, though, as per her request.

Young Tanjiro and Aneko appeared similarly surprised, confused, and more than a little bewildered, giving a small uncomprehending gasp, but they too didn't ask any questions. Tanjiro was shaping up to be an excellent man, indeed.

"My name is Velvet Crowe, and I come from a world known as Desolation."

Velvet Crowe. He would remember that name.

Besides, Demon Girl with the Red Hand sounded slightly silly and obtuse.

"I arrived here two days ago during the Scarlet Night. As I understand, this is the first time your world has ever experienced this phenomenon." She paused momentarily. "To explain this, I first need to talk about something known as the earthpulse."

"Think of the earthpulse as a flow of energy of the living world. This energy ebbs and wanes, continuously coursing through the planet across multiple branches, and they result in everything natural about the world. Blizzards, volcanoes, even shifting of the land originates from the flow of the earthpulse."

Kagaya couldn't quite say he had heard of the earthpulse before, but various beliefs had come and gone over the ages regarding the power imbued within nature itself. This seemed to be analogous to them.

"On a Scarlet Night, the full moon aligns perfectly with these branches, and this energy is pulled up from beneath the earth into the surface world. The amount of energy spilling upward causes the moon to turn red, and produces vast quantities of a spiritual power known as mana, intrinsic to all living beings. When this happens, the transformation into a demon is made more likely."

Another pause, allowing them to digest that bit of information. "This brings me to my next point. Demonic transformation occurs due to the body of a vessel becoming overwhelmed with malevolence."

He couldn't see her, but he could sense Velvet gesturing toward her demon arm. "Think of malevolence as being negative energy generated by impurities within the hearts of humans and living creatures. There are eight types: hatred, greed, despair, conceit, obsession, lust, cowardice, and selfishness. Every living person – including all of you – generates a constant flow of malevolence. The transformation into a demon occurs because too much of it is imbued into the substance making up a vessel, overwhelming it."

Kagaya's mind pondered over the information, thinking about what it could mean. Muzan only ever transformed demons with his own blood. Did his blood, then, produce or contain enough of this malevolence to transform a human into a demon?

More troubling was the second implication. Was Muzan presently unaware of this? Could he somehow find a way to transform demons _without_ his blood? He had to know, after all, that the Demon Slayers and Tamayo were attempting to make use of it to develop a cure, and to exploit a possible weakness of his. If he could learn to make demons without his blood, their organisation's mission would become much more difficult.

"I use the term vessel loosely. Anything can become a demon if enveloped by thick enough malevolence. I've fought against a _pot_ demon before."

Tanjiro coughed. Kagaya smiled at the boy, and he could feel embarrassment radiating from him at the blunder, as Velvet Crowe stared at him for a moment.

Ah, for all his strengths, dear Tanjiro still had so much to learn.

"I believe that for some reason, your world has a different sort of malevolence to mine. It is why demons here possess different abilities, first and foremost their frankly ridiculous regeneration and durability, along with some nuanced differences in Blood Demon Arts and my own artes," she postulated. Kagaya thought it was a reasonable hypothesis. "Also, I believe that people here either have a higher resistance toward the transformation, or that you produce less malevolence naturally. It might explain why spontaneous transformation only occurred on the Scarlet Night."

Kagaya nodded, agreeing. Based on what she had said, it did sound like a likely explanation.

"I'm a type of demon known as a therion. My claw devours anything and everything – flesh, bones, malevolence, even _energy_. Everything is converted into malevolence, that I can use to empower my artes or directly expel it. This was how I transformed you back into a demon last night, Aneko, by imbuing my own malevolence into you when your flesh and this world's malevolence was burnt by sunlight. It's also likely why you've lost your Demon Art and your regeneration."

"I…" Aneko said weakly, almost powerlessly, but there was gratitude in her voice. "Thank you again for that, Velvet…"

For a demon that had killed some of his own, he felt a strange rush of empathy toward her.

"Right." There was an almost protective feeling being projected from Velvet toward Aneko. Kagaya also sensed some sort of complicated emotion within Velvet, some kind of… empathy? Understanding?

It was something born of Velvet's past, but it wasn't his place to pry. Everyone had secrets they wished to keep.

There was also some kind of embarrassment, as though she hadn't expected to be _thanked_, and Kagaya wondered just why that was.

"At this point, I'll move on to a related matter," Velvet said. "I mentioned resonance earlier. In my world, not everyone could see demons, except people possessing a certain amount of resonance. It is something you are born with, although its effects can be boosted by something called the 'domain' of a sufficiently powerful being."

Hmm. As far as he knew, though, everyone in Japan could see demons. Where was Velvet going with this?

"To my understanding, everyone here can see a transformed demon. I think that everyone here has just enough resonance to see them, but not another group of beings known as malakhim."

She paused, giving time for Kagaya to ponder why she made mention of that.

Ah, that earlier display. She did say that young Tanjiro was resonant, which meant that –

"As you might have guessed, there is a malak here in this room." She pointed toward the corner. She paused for a moment, then sighed. "She's feeling shy."

_She_? So they had genders, similar to humans and other animals, then?

"So far, only I have been able to see, hear, and interact with her, and I don't quite know why. The malakhim of my world can exert their effects on the world regardless of whether they can be seen. Tanjiro here is the closest anyone has gotten to perceiving her presence."

_Of her world_? So this 'malak' was part of Japan?

"On my arrival to this world on the Scarlet Night, I found myself near a village that was being enveloped by malevolence. I ate up most of it, then killed two of the demons attack the village. That was also where I met this malak."

Velvet fell silent, and he could sense her turning her head to where Tanjiro had smelled her to be.

That wasn't something that have ever crossed his mind, but today was shaping up to be a day of a great many learning experiences.

"Are you sure?" Velvet asked the malak.

A pause.

"If you're certain, then. What do you want to say?"

A pause.

"Are you serious?" Velvet sounded incredulous.

A pause.

"What does that even _mean_?"

A pause.

"No, I'm not saying that." She sounded as though she was forcing the words out through her teeth.

A pause.

"Do we really have to do this?" Resignation.

A pause. Nearby, he could feel Tanjiro and Aneko fidgeting.

"…why do you have to be like this?"

A pause. Kagaya felt a very different side of Velvet Crowe coming to the fore. Where she seemed battle-hardened and filled with determination before, now there was a sense of fond annoyance; a lighter side to the intimidating demon.

"…you should be glad that I actually _like_ you. I can eat you at any time, you know." Then, she sighed very tiredly, turned to Kagaya, and spoke. "She wants you to guess who she is."

Kagaya's eyebrows rose, fascination spiking within. Was he supposed to know this malak?

"Huh?" Tanjiro sounded confused. "Do we know her?"

"You don't, but Kagaya does," Velvet said tiredly.

He did?

Then, Velvet spoke to the air once more. "You do realise that they don't know exactly how malakhim can be born yet, right?"

A pause.

Velvet sighed again.

"Malakhim are known to form in two ways," Velvet addressed them once more. "The first is spontaneous formation. The exact reason is unknown, but it is thought to be as a result of mana condensing and gaining sentience. The second involves reincarnation of a dead soul into a malak."

Wait, a dead soul –

Reincarnation –

Tanjiro had mentioned spring _flowers – _

A very familiar sensation of grief and regret gripped his heart, although now tinged with hope.

"_It couldn't be…"_ he gasped, turning his frail body toward where the malak was purportedly at. "Is it really…"

"'The Kuroyuri flower doesn't suit you, Master Ubuyashiki. Yours is not a cursed love.' That's what she says."

His words caught in his throat.

Those were _her _words.

She was really… she _is_ really…

"_Kanae?_"

It came out as a choked gasp. The sensation swelled in his chest, overwhelming, pouring out from within. His eyes were beginning to water.

She remembered her face from back before he lost his sight, her gentle voice, ever-understanding even to the most abrasive of her peers…

She had died in battle against a demon because…

"I'm so sorry…" he spoke before he could stop himself, breaking his composure. "I'm _so _sorry, Kanae…"

Softly, faintly, he felt a gentle caress of a weak breeze against his cheek. He raised his head, startled. Two streams of wind curled around his arms, its presence made known, yet entirely soothing, lacking force.

It felt like –

It felt like _Kanae._

"That was a wind arte," Velvet said suddenly, sounding surprised. "Last night, on the mountain… you used a malak arte there as well…"

For a while, no one spoke. The breeze gradually faded, yet he _knew_ without a doubt that Kanae was still there, watching over them all.

"Thank you…" he said faintly, genuinely. "Thank you, Velvet. Thank you, Kanae."

He sensed Velvet feeling uncomfortable again, as though she wasn't used to thanks. Hurriedly, she spoke.

"Don't mention it." She paused, then spoke seriously. "She wants to keep this matter only within this room, at least until she learns how to use her artes and interact with the world. She doesn't want to give Shinobu false hope."

Kagaya had seen how the Insect Hashira had grieved greatly after her sister's death. Her demeanour had changed in the aftermath of that tragedy, becoming more cold, showing a more vengeful side toward her. He thought that knowing that Kanae was still here, in some way or form would be beneficial to her healing, but…

"If that is your wish, Kanae," he said, bowing his head. "I will not disrespect your memo – no, I will not disrespect _you."_

To be told that Kanae was still alive, invisible to everyone but Velvet. So much of his world had changed in just one meeting alone…

"Umm…" Tanjiro spoke up hesitantly. Velvet and Kagaya turned to face him. He fidgeted slightly, then asked his question. "Who is Kanae?"

Kagaya chuckled. Again, he felt a rush of embarrassment emanating from the boy.

"Kanae Kocho, former Flower Hashira, killed by the Upper Moon Two a few years ago," Velvet droned dryly. "Sister to Shinobu Kocho, Insect Hashira."

"H- Hashira?" two voices exclaimed; Aneko's fearful, Tanjiro's amazed.

"She's also a chatterbox who constantly finds ways to annoy me, dreams of a world where humans and demons can coexist in harmony, and as of last night has been scheming of ways to adopt you, Nezuko and Aneko into some kind of dysfunctional family."

"Ehh?" Aneko and Tanjiro gasped, surprised. He heard a small scratching sound against the flooring, as Nezuko shifted her position suddenly in a twitch.

Ah, what a sly and intelligent girl. Had she been listening in the whole time, when everyone else thought her to be resting?

There was a short pause. Again, Velvet sighed tiredly.

"No, Kanae, I'm not going to be a mother. Or the father figure, for that matter. Or any part of this nonsense."

A smile tugged at Kagaya's lips. Kanae Kocho truly was such a pure, blessed soul. Velvet Crowe and her were both such interesting people. He was genuinely glad that both of them were now with him, at this time and place.

"I'm ignoring you," Velvet declared, then turned to face the others present in the room. "I think that's enough explanation, for now. Any questions?"

Kagaya thought over everything that had transpired. Her explanation had been fairly thorough. To learn that there was such a thing as malevolence…

Come to think of it, the way she had described her claw…

Young Shinazugawa Genya had seemed to be such a mystery, but after her explanation…

"There is a Demon Slayer with a unique ability," he began saying. "By consuming parts of demons, he can temporarily gain demonic attributes, such as strength, regeneration, or speed. Do you have any insight as to why?"

"Hmm…" Velvet mused, initially surprised, then began to ponder deep in thought. "I can't be certain. He could be consuming malevolence or using it to sustain his body without fully and permanently transforming, or using some sort of obscure arte. I don't think he's a therion, though, if that's what you're wondering. I can temporarily boost my power by siphoning strength with my arm, but for other reasons I doubt that he's a therion."

She didn't seem willing to share those reasons, and Kagaya didn't want to pry. She had shared far more than she needed to already, and he would respect her privacy.

He nodded. "I see. Thank you."

Velvet glanced around. "Any other questions?"

"Umm…" Tanjiro spoke up. "Is there any way you can help Nezuko conquer the sunlight as well? It's just… I really want her to be happy…"

Again, there was the sound of a small twitch from her direction. The little mischievous girl was still listening in, it seemed.

"It's something I'd rather avoid," Velvet said hesitantly, grimacing. "Aneko retaining control was a miracle in itself. It not only needed me to send just the _right _amount of malevolence to keep the transformation going while this world's malevolence burnt away, but also needed her own strength of will to prevent being overwhelmed. Besides, I hardly think you'd want Nezuko to suffer the way Aneko had."

"Right…" Tanjiro sounded slightly dismayed, but cheered up quickly. "We'll keep searching for a cure, then! I know that one day, she'll become human again! We'll make both of you humans as well!"

There was a moment of dumbfounded silence. Then, Velvet snorted. "I'm too far gone down my life as a demon, kid. As I told Giyu, I've already dug my own grave."

There it was again, that sense of self-hatred. Just what burden did Velvet carry within her?

There was a lot that Kagaya wanted to know about her. By her own admission, she had killed, and yet she had selflessly come to the defense of his precious children. Just exactly what was it that motivated her?

Alas, now was not the time to push. Already, the fact that she hadn't allied with Muzan was a miracle in itself. That she was willing to discuss matters with him at present was a luxury.

"You mentioned an 'oath' contained in his – in Muzan's blood, yesterday," Aneko said. Brave of her, to say his name. "What did you mean?"

"Oh, right. Simply put, an oath gives special powers in exchange for certain conditions, and breaking these conditions results in dire consequences. I know of one who took an oath to live for centuries, and another that made an oath not to kill in exchange for a long life." She paused for a moment. "I don't really know how oaths are made, but my understanding is that it involves a complicated arte or ritual."

Wait… that sounded a little like…

"It is said that in the past, during the Sengoku era, there were Demon Slayers of old who bore marks on their bodies," he said slowly, considering his words. His audience was paying full attention. "Legend says that they grant special powers to those who bear it, but many of them die at an early age for unknown reasons. Is it possible that this is an oath?"

Velvet remained silent for a while. "Can't say for sure, but possibly. I don't know enough of the theory behind formal artes to actually give an opinion."

"I see." He frowned, deep in thought.

"When was the last time this mark appeared?" Tanjiro asked, curious.

"It is unclear," he said kindly. "We didn't have records back at that time, and our predecessors from that age had been on the verge of annihilation many times in the past, so information about the marks have been lost."

They fell silent again. Then, very slowly, Aneko spoke up hesitantly.

"Umm… what's going to happen to me now?" She sounded afraid, a lamb in a den of wolves; looking between the rest of them in turn.

"I gave you my word, Aneko, Velvet," he said honestly. "As long as you don't kill any more humans, I will make sure that my children know not to harm you two, and Nezuko." His heart ached, remembering Kanae's vision of an ideal world. "I'm sure Kanae would have – no, _does_ want that."

A breath caught in Aneko's throat, then she exhaled slowly. "Thank you…"

Velvet seemed to be listening to Kanae, then she snorted. "She's caught between sobbing and thanking you."

Again, he smiled. Today was truly a blessing.

"If I may offer a suggestion, though?" he spoke. "I believe that Muzan will be searching for you and Aneko, once he learns that you have conquered his only weakness. I don't know if he is capable of knowing the location of all his demons at any time –"

Aneko gasped.

"– but I would encourage caution, as he may have discovered your existence after the events of last night. Would you be willing to listen to something I have in mind?"

"Go ahead."

"Following this meeting, I plan to send Tanjiro to the Butterfly Estate, to see to his wounds. Young Inosuke and Zenitsu have already been brought there." Tanjiro gasped, and Kagaya could sense him tearing up. "Several Demon Slayers from the mission on Natagumo Mountain have also been brought there to recuperate. I hope for all of them to begin a period of recovery training before being sent on more missions. If you are willing, perhaps you and Aneko would like to join them?"

Velvet took a moment to consider, Aneko fidgeting all the while. Then, she seemed to turn her head, addressing the other demon. "What do you think?"

"Me?" Aneko sounded surprised.

"You're as much a part of this as I am." Velvet shrugged. "I told you that you steer your own ship, right?"

"There will be Demon Slayers –"

"And if they try to do anything to you without you aggravating them, trust me when I say that there will be hell to pay."

That declaration seemed to be aimed both to Aneko and Kagaya. He was about to reassure her that his children would be told about her circumstances, but then –

"I will help you as well!" Tanjiro declared, thumping a palm over his chest, then seemed to wince with pain.

Ah, silly child, had he forgotten that he was still injured?

Still, though, Kagaya was proud of him.

"Huh?"

"I told you back on the mountain that you deserve a second chance," Tanjiro said earnestly. "I could feel so much regret coming from you. I know you've killed people before, but your scent has changed completely since then. I think… I think you're a different person, now. You're Aneko, not the Older Sister Spider Demon."

There was stunned silence, and Kagaya could only wish that he had the sight to gaze upon the fine Demon Slayer in their midst.

"Thank you…" Listening to her now, Kagaya couldn't quite think of her as a demon.

"Not bad," Velvet sounded slightly impressed. "There's hope for you yet."

"Uhhh…" Tanjiro seemed embarrassed, scratching at his head.

"On that matter, what _is _up with your injuries?" Velvet asked. "They didn't seem that severe when I checked up on you at the mountain, but you still wince every time you move."

"Oh!" he perked up. "I used the Breath of Water and Dance of the Fire God for too long while fighting the demon, and strained my body too much."

"I don't know what those are, but… hmm…" Velvet hummed. Kagaya heard the sound of her rummaging around what he assumed was a pouch. "Eat this."

"What is it?" Tanjiro asked, but complied.

"Apple gel. It should heal you soon enough."

"Apple gel? I –" he paused, then his voice sounded amazed. "_What?_"

"Feeling better?"

"It's amazing!" Tanjiro gushed, and Kaguya could hear him moving around experimentally from where he sat. "It hurts so much less, now!"

"Don't worry about it," she said. Then she paused, listening to the voice that Kagaya couldn't hear. "You never asked."

If this 'apple gel' could help his children with their wounds…

"Velvet, I know it's a lot to ask of you, but–"

"Kanae's already nagging me about it," Velvet sighed. "Yes, I know how to make it. Fruit, some herbs, gel base, and a steady infusion of mana while cooking. I'll try and see if I can get it to work here."

"Thank you," he breathed. "Truly."

"Think nothing of it," she waved him aside. "On that note: what _is _up with your blindness and that sickness, anyway?"

Ah, had she noticed?

"It is a curse of my family," he said. "Over time, it will continue spreading, until the day I die. Do not worry about it."

He could feel her frowning, but accepted his words. There was no need to burden her with his illness.

"Fine. Aneko, Kanae, and I will join you two at the Butterfly Estate, then, at least for the time being. I'll need to make sure you remain in control of the malevolence powering you, and to control your urges. We could try working on seeing if you can use artes as well, since I'll be helping Kanae with her malak artes. Who knows? Maybe at some point Tanjiro could see and interact with Kanae as well."

Velvet was a curious individual, indeed. She had been abrasive toward Sanemi – he could understand why – and seemed to be driven by a conviction to live freely, shackled by none. At the same time, he could see her selflessness leaking through, through her interactions with the invisible Kanae, and now Aneko and the Kamado children.

She rose to stand, and Kagaya began to push himself up weakly. He heard the sound of Tanjiro rushing up to help him, but he chuckled, waving the boy aside.

"My curse hasn't yet claimed my legs, young Tanjiro. Do not worry yourself over me."

He seemed uncertain, but acquiesced. He cajoled Nezuko back into her box, and walked out of the room, where his daughters were patiently waiting. Together, they made their way out of the mansion, his dearest Hashira children still waiting for them. What discussion they had between them fell silent the moment he and his guests came into view.

Ah, he smiled faintly. Sanemi had been anxious, if the sound of his pacing footsteps was any indication.

"Thank you very much, Velvet, Aneko, Tanjiro, Nezuko," he said, bowing toward them. Their escorts were already waiting, no doubt having been summoned by Shinobu. "Please, follow these Kakushi to the Butterfly Estate."

They tensed up at being pointed out by Kagaya. He smiled fondly to himself at that. Though they weren't sent to combat, they were still a key part of the Demon Slayer Corps, and each of them were dearly treasured by him.

"Yes!" one of them shouted nervously. "Please! Follow us!"

"Please remember that these guests of ours are to be treated as such," Kagaya said gently. "I would be most grateful if you could make sure that those at the Butterfly Estate are reminded of that."

"O- of course!" The Kakushi sounded flustered. "It will be done!"

With that, he heard the four of them making their way over to their escorts. Just before they stepped out off onto the path, Velvet gave a final parting message.

"Good chat."

Then, she walked away, his Hashira watching her exit silently.

He couldn't help it, he chuckled.

A moment later, they all began speaking over one another.

"You –"

"Show some respect –"

"Demon –"

He raised a finger to his lips, and they fell silent.

Ah, his children were always an energetic bunch.

He waited for a moment, listening as the group made good speed away from the headquarters. Whatever the apple gel had done, it had clearly worked wonders for Tanjiro.

"Shall we enter?"

With that, they moved as a group, into the room they had just vacated. They settled in quickly, waiting for him to begin.

He thought over all that had transpired over just more than an hour. There was so much information they had gained there – the existence of malevolence, the truth about demons, the nature of the Scarlet Night, even notions like the earthpulse and malakhim. Some things he wouldn't share – Velvet valued her privacy, and Kanae had her own wishes – but even then this might just give them the edge they needed.

For the first time in a long while, he felt a spark of hope. He spoke, and began the semiannual Hashira meeting with the thought that weighed most heavily on his mind.

"I believe that we have just found a very powerful ally in our goal to stop Kibutsuji Muzan once and for all."

* * *

**Going to be a lot of talking, meet-the-characters, OC-development, exposition and other junk for the next few chapters in the Butterfly Estate. The overall structure of the story starts diverging more from canon after that.**

**No idea on whether there will be pairings in this story. We'll see.**

**Just a warning, some of the cast won't feature that heavily for now while we focus on Velvet and her slowly-growing crew of misfits. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Introducing Chapter 4, sitting at a whopping 19000 words (43 pages in Word), the longest of any story I've written so far. I kind of got carried away writing this, then got lazy and didn't bother trimming down the fat of this chapter. **

**Incidentally, while reading through my past notes of this fanfic and other fanfics in my folder, I realised that my writing has a very formulaic structure. Character from one series goes to another at a semi-pivotal moment, promptly becomes a mentor-like figure and then followed closely by a second arc of character development and laying down the strings for future twisting of the plot, before immediately crashing and burning. If you're looking for something similar, the Worm x BNHA crossover on another account of mine (What the Hell, Hero?) certainly follows the exact same structure, and even my non-crossover FE3H fanfic (In Time's Flow) on yet another account throws the protagonist into the role of a mentor. Speaking of, I really should get to updating those stories (among the other ones still on this account)...**

**Maybe I should rethink my career options, eh?**

**Anyway, without further ado, here's Chapter 4, otherwise known as the chapter in which I read the localised in-game descriptions of every damn arte, mix in canon and fanon Tales/Berseria lore in equal part, and watch a cooking video for content's sake.**

**Also, I really need to start reading the manga soon rather than just relying on the wiki to keep things accurate.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Home, sweet home! Oh, look! There's Aoi!"

Kanae grinned widely, rejoining by Velvet's side, looking around as though an excited child all the while. Velvet resisted the urge to sigh. The entire trip back, Kanae had been chatting relentlessly at her, despite the fact that Velvet was hardly going to engage in conversation while the escorts were still with their party.

The moment they had arrived at the Butterfly Estate, Kanae had squealed excitedly, running around to explore her old home. Meanwhile, Velvet had been forced to trudge along with her Kakushi escorts, following them to the infirmary where the injured Demon Slayers from the battle on the mountain were being treated.

Apparently, the downside of being a guest of Kagaya's was that they wouldn't take her word that she was uninjured, demon or not. Aneko was still feeling nervous, despite Kagaya's reassurances, but Velvet couldn't blame her. Many of the Demon Slayers they had passed by both during the trek and now in the estate proper were shooting both of them dark looks.

Even though their leader guaranteed their safety, it didn't mean that the organisation's members would willingly accept them as guests.

They were handed over to one of the estate's helpers, apparently a support member of the Demon Slayer Corps. Kanzaki Aoi was a short, twin-tailed girl, with what seemed to be a strict, no-nonsense attitude. The moment the Kakushi had passed their party over to her care, she had immediately begun directing them to the infirmary.

To be honest, she reminded Velvet slightly of Eleanor.

"I was told to expect injured personnel," she said briskly as they walked, frowning as she looked over their group. "You don't look to be in too bad shape to me."

"Ah! Velvet gave me medication that cured my aches instantly!" Tanjiro bobbed his head rapidly, chatting animatedly. "I could barely walk at all after the battle on the mountain, but now there's only some mild pains left."

"Medication?" the girl asked, curious. Then, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Are you a doctor? It's not safe to dispense medication randomly, you know?"

"Oh no, it's not Velvet's fault!" Tanjiro quickly waved the blame aside, before Velvet could respond. "Trust me, it's the best medication I've ever received!"

"Hmmm." She still seemed unconvinced, but let it slide. "And you two?"

"Uninjured," Velvet said flatly. "Do you people even treat demons?"

"Demon physiology should be similar enough to human physiology," she said. "Not that any demon would let us try."

Her words were laced with a hint of bitterness, but Velvet could understand why. From what she knew, most Demon Slayers only joined the organisation because their families were killed by demons.

Again, she couldn't help the comparison to Eleanor.

"You're being oddly civil with us, considering that we're demons," Velvet said nonchalantly. "Most of the others just glare at us."

"Lady Kocho has informed us to treat you as guests, despite your status as demons. I will not go against her wishes."

Right. Velvet was convinced that Aoi Kanzaki was this world's version of Eleanor.

"Come to think of it, it's strange that your injuries have healed so quickly after taking that unknown – and unlicensed – medication," Aoi mused, while still taking the opportunity to berate Velvet's distribution of apple gel despite her lack of medical expertise. "There was another Demon Slayer who was poisoned by one of the demons. It turned the rest into spiders, but Lady Kocho made a concoction to counteract the poison. Even then, we thought it would have been too late to save him, or at the very least we would have to give him medication for a prolonged period, but he seemed to be completely healthy by the time we recovered and examined him."

"That's the Older Brother Spider Demon's poison –" Aneko spoke, but cut herself off mid-sentence as some of the other attendants in the estate glared at her. "Sorry…"

Eh, she would learn to live with it. Velvet had her fair share of such treatment in the past.

A poison that turned people into _spiders, _though? That was new.

Wait a second…

"Did this person have yellow hair, yellow katana, yellow haori –"

"Zenitsu?" Tanjiro gasped loudly. "You know Zenitsu?"

"Little pet sparrow as well?"

"That sparrow is his _Kasugai crow_," Aoi stressed, then looked at her curiously, guiding them through to another corridor. "And yes. How did you know?"

Velvet smiled wryly. "Seems like my _unlicensed medication_ treated him well, then."

Aoi and Tanjiro paused mid-step. Velvet and Aneko turned, wondering why they had stopped.

"You saved Zenitsu's life?" Tanjiro's voice choked, and Velvet was mildly alarmed to note that there were tears in his life. He bowed rapidly. "Thank you! Thank you!"

"Uhh… you're welcome?" Velvet said uncertainly, wondering what she was supposed to do when an overly-enthusiastic teenager offered their thanks. By the side, Kanae was openly laughing at her misfortune.

"You gave _more_ medication without medical advice?" Aoi warned dangerously. For a few seconds, she didn't speak. Then, her face reddened slightly, swallowing her pride. "Please, how did you prepare it?"

"I didn't prepare it –"

"You gave unlicensed medication you didn't prepare, for a poison you have no experience with?!"

"Yes?" Velvet asked, unsure why she was so vexed. "What's wrong?"

Didn't panacea bottles just cure all poisons and other ailments, anyway? What else did she expect her to do?

"What's wrong? What's _wrong_?" Despite her small stature, Aoi was beginning to build up a fiery temper. "Giving wrong medication can be toxic! Do you have it with you now? We need to make sure there aren't any side effects we haven't noticed yet!"

"Just _what_ did you give him, Velvet?" Kanae asked, leaning in closer. "You didn't mention any of this to me – ah, wait, we haven't had a chance to talk yet. No acting like a lunatic, right?"

Kanae giggled to herself, while Velvet dug around in her pouch. If they just wanted to _study_ her medication, they shouldn't have to use up too much of her limited supply of panacea bottles, right?

"Here," she said, handing it over.

Aoi took it gingerly, scrunching up her brows as she raised it to her eyes, peering at the clear fluid. "What is it supposed to be?"

"Panacea bottle," she said.

Aoi blinked. "What?"

Kanae blinked. "What?"

Tanjiro and Aneko stared at it, seemingly nonplussed.

"It… heals people?" Velvet said, unsure about why they were so confused. "You take it when you get poisoned?"

"What do you mean? You just take it without finding the harmful components first?"

"Yes?"

"You would use it to treat any poison?"

"Yes?"

Aoi inhaled deeply. Kanae was still staring at the bottle.

"Are you telling me," she began saying, "that this medication heals _all_ poisons?"

"Yes?"

No one moved for several seconds. Velvet was getting worried.

Then, Kanae chuckled, slowly at first, before entering a full-blown cackle.

"Only you," she said between peals of laughter. "Only _you_ wouldn't realise just how valuable this is."

"How did you get it? Do you know what's inside?" Aoi said quickly, grabbing a parchment and writing implement from somewhere in her robes. "If what you're saying is true, we need to know immediately!"

"Uhh…" Velvet thought back to what Celica had told her ages ago.

Actually, now that she thought about it…

"I'm not sure if the materials will be easy to find…"

"You _do _know what's inside?" Aoi snapped excitedly, waving her parchment about. "Please, tell us! Rarity doesn't matter, we can find them."

Well, there wasn't any backing down now.

"Magic resin, eggbear claw, soulgrass, and herbs."

Aoi blinked. "Come again?"

Kanae only laughed harder.

"Some of the names may have been lost in translation. I come from very far away," she half-lied. "I'm not from Japan, as you can probably tell from my name."

Tanjiro's face was red, cheeks puffed up, as though controlling an urge to laugh. Aneko still didn't seem to be completely there, her vision unfocused and dazed. Velvet knew she was on edge, but did she truly feel that threatened?

She really needed to find a way to deal with that soon…

"We'll check against some other references," Aoi said with a frown. "Do you mind if we take this sample and see if we can work from there?"

"Go ahead," Velvet said, shrugging. That had been her plan, anyway. Her supply was limited, and sacrificing one bottle if it meant potentially having more available in the future seemed to be a good plan.

She wondered if they would have any luck with finding any of the components, though. Did this world have anything similar?

"Thank you!" Reverently, she placed it inside her robes, taking extra care not to damage it. "Really!"

Well, that at least seemed to have thawed the ice that had formed between them a little. Aoi now walked with a slight bounce in her step, no longer gazing coldly at herself or Aneko each time their eyes met.

Still, it didn't seem to improve Aneko's spirits. She still hid behind the rest of them, merely trudging along in their shadow. Rui must have had a deeper impact into her psyche than she initially thought, if she had such a fragile sense of self. Compounded by the number of Demon Slayers around, even Tanjiro's and Velvet's supportive presences couldn't help to overcome her funk.

"The infirmary is just ahead," Aoi pointed out cheerfully.

It seemed to be fairly lively inside. Already, they could hear the sounds of people talking.

"I told you that I'm fine already," a voice whined. "I don't need more medication –"

"No buts! Lady Kocho developed the formula herself after studying the poison! Five times a day for three months, that's an order!"

Then, there was the sound of stomping feet, before a fuming attendant left the room. He paused fractionally as he saw their party, nodded at Aoi, then narrowed his eyes once he saw the obviously-demon Aneko, and Velvet beside her. No doubt he had been informed of the nature of their 'guests'. He turned his head away quickly, moving away in a different direction.

"We've got more staff here than normal to help treat those injured in Natagumo Mountain," Aoi explained quickly. "They're a bit agitated because of overwork, so –"

"It's because I'm a demon, isn't it?" Aneko sighed.

"Uhh…" Aoi squirmed slightly, unsure of whether or not to answer the question honestly.

Well, at least it meant that she at least liked them a little. And to think that all it took was a little bribery.

If she knew panacea bottles were so valuable, she really should have stocked up on more of them.

"I understand," Aneko said glumly. "I've killed people. I know you Demon Slayers would kill me if it wasn't for Velvet, but even still…"

"Like I said, you'll get used to it," Velvet brushed the matter aside. "If they keep pestering you, just threaten to eat them."

Three heads turned to stare at her. She shrugged.

"What? It works." Then, she thought back to how Magilou continued incessantly tormenting her with all her quips, despite repeated threats, some of which Velvet had actually carried out. "Most of the time, at least."

"L- let's just go in," Aoi said, changing the topic, moving forward quickly. "I'm sure that boy will be happy to meet all of you again."

"Right!" Tanjiro nodded, then moved past them to enter the room, greeting his friend enthusiastically. "Zenitsu!"

"Tanjiro?" he spoke. "Tanjiro! You're here! And you have Nezuko with you!"

At that point, she and Aneko stepped in, her fellow demon staying some distance away, looking uncomfortably at the infirmary filled with injured Demon Slayers.

They made no effort to conceal the hatred in their gazes.

Ah. This could be problematic.

Gently, Velvet steered Aneko closer toward Tanjiro from where she had frozen in place, forcing her to face away from the vast majority of the room. Aoi had gone on to see to the wounded in the room, dispensing her duties with the same diligence that Eleanor had.

"Zenitsu!" Tanjiro repeated his greeting enthusiastically. "I was so worried about you!"

"Me?" His face reddened, embarrassed. He coughed. "Well, truth be told, I thought I was going to die, but the thought of cute Nezuko spurred me on!"

Velvet blinked. Tanjiro moved the box on his back protectively, as Zenitsu's gaze followed it, his eyes dreamy and lost, his head moving around as Tanjiro shied away from him. From what she understood of his rambling as they made their way to the Butterfly Estate, Nezuko only ever really voluntarily came out of her box when they were in private, or with those she trusted.

Zenitsu continued whatever it was he was doing, chasing Tanjiro around. That, of course, was when his sight came upon her and Aneko, and his eyes widened.

She narrowed her eyes, moving a hand toward Aneko protectively. If this Demon Slayer was going to attack her –

"You're the angel!" In an instant, he zipped across to stand in front of her, abandoning what he had been doing with Tanjiro. "I told them that an angel gave me special medicine, but no one believed me!"

Oh. So it wasn't an attack, then.

"Zenitsu!" Tanjiro pried him away, looking at her apologetically. "This is Velvet and Aneko! We met at Nagatumo Mountain, and then went together to see the Hashira and Master Ubuyashiki!"

There was a violent cough from one of the wounded Demon Slayers in the infirmary. Tanjiro looked in that direction, concerned and confused, but Velvet simply ignored him, opting to study Zenitsu instead.

She didn't miss the way his eyes had narrowed slightly as Tanjiro pointed out Aneko, or the way his body had stiffened and tightened. There was some confusion in his eyes, but then he seemed to shrug it off, smiling brightly at them both.

"Agatsuma Zenitsu," he introduced himself, straightening his uniform. "It is my pleasure to meet both of you delightful ladies."

Um. What?

"Zenitsu!" Tanjiro whined. "Stop that!"

"You know we're demons, right?" she asked dryly.

"Demon or human, when you're both around me, I feel like I'm in heaven," he spoke without missing a beat, his eyes shining with hope.

There was a moment of silence. Aneko coughed.

Zenitsu's face fell.

Kanae snorted. "Looks like someone likes you, Velvet."

"Wait, Tanjiro…" the tone of his voice lowered. "Are you telling me that this whole time, you've been in the company of this _angel_? You… you ruffian! You traitor!"

He grabbed at Tanjiro's uniform, while the trapped boy looked haplessly at Velvet and Aneko.

The sight looked so intimately familiar. Zenitsu was alternating between harassing Tanjiro and attempting to grab Nezuko's box, simultaneously sounding angry and yet lost in his own world.

Then, it clicked.

This was the equivalent of Bienfu, then.

What was that little normin doing now? Were he and Magilou up to some devilish mischief at this very moment? Or was he being his usual bizarre, perverted self, finding ways to get closer to Eleanor?

She would not entertain the possibility that he was corrupting Phi again, like the time she had discovered him sharing his collection of '_books'_ with the young malak. '_How to Talk a Human Female into Becoming Your Vessel' _and '_Physically Escalating with Cuties'_ were _not_ appropriate reading material for any malak, never mind one as innocent as Phi.

"Is something wrong, Velvet?" Tanjiro's voice cut through the haze of her thoughts. "You're staring at Zenitsu pretty intensely, there."

Was she? Now that she thought about it, they had stopped tussling around a few seconds ago.

"Ah!" Zenitsu snapped his fingers, sliding a little closer toward her. She stepped back, but he wasn't deterred in the least. "The angel must have been attracted to my charm! I _knew_ that fate had you saving me for a reason!"

"I told you, I'm a _demon,_" she stressed, shoving him away to sit back on his infirmary bed. "You reminded me of a friend of mine, that's all."

"Oh?" His eyes sparked. "Are we alike? Perhaps we are destined to be friends at least, then!"

"Zenitsu, stop it!"

…yup. Total Bienfu.

"You tell me," she said, hiding a sly smile. "Perverted?"

He gasped.

"Annoying?"

He looked at her, eyes wide.

"Cowardly?"

There were some tears in there, now. Tanjiro's head was whirling between them both.

"Hey, umm… Velvet, isn't that a bit much?" Kanae said worriedly, her phantom hands tugging on her shirt.

Velvet sighed. Fine.

Though Bienfu shied from danger most of the time, little _Normin Breyve _had been the one to hold open the earthpulse rift in the aftermath of her group's first encounter with Artorius at the Empyrean's Throne, pushing his frail little body to its limits.

She remembered how Zenitsu had been lying there, his breath agonisingly slowed to reduce the spread of the poison. From the craters around the battlefield that spoke of a grand battle, it was obvious that he had fought valiantly.

"When the time comes, though, you can count on him to be the bravest one of all."

His eyes snapped to face Velvet, shining brightly, a small trail of tears running down from them.

"Hey, that's totally Zenitsu!" Tanjiro clapped his hands once. "He's really strong once he stops running away!"

"Tanjiro!" Zenitsu whined, then dragged him into a bone-crushing hug. "You're so kind!"

"Oi, shut up!" a hoarse voice spoke up weakly from the bed next over.

Velvet turned to see who had been listening in –

She blinked in confusion.

Why was he wearing a boar's head?

"I- Inosuke?!" Tanjiro broke away from Zenitsu's grip. "You're here! What happened to your voice?"

"They said he had his throat crushed," Zenitsu explained helpfully, when Inosuke just slumped back over, facing the ceiling with his arms and legs spread out. "He fought a really strong demon."

"You got injured because of me?" Tanjiro grabbed one of his friend's hand with both of his own, shaking with emotion. "I'm so sorry that I left! I didn't think that he would have sent me flying away!"

"It's okay," he groaned out weakly. "Don't worry."

"It's so funny, really," Zenitsu said cheerfully, having somehow gotten over his previous brief melancholy. Much like Bienfu, really. "He becomes so gentle when he's depressed, it cracks me up!"

"I'm sorry for being so weak." He seemed entirely dispirited, although Velvet had no reference to compare him against.

"Come now, Inosuke!" Tanjiro consoled him, repositioning to place a palm over the back of his hand. "You're really strong! You fought the demon by yourself! It's not like you to get depressed!"

He looked around for support. Zenitsu had stopped laughing, looking guiltily back at Tanjiro. Aneko was standing furthest away, keeping her distance from the Demon Slayers. When he came across Velvet, though, an idea seemed to spark in his mind.

Welp. Looks like she was going to burn through yet another gel.

Denying Tanjiro's inevitable request felt worse than kicking a lost puppy. He and Phi were alike in that way.

"Velvet…"

"I know, I know," she sighed. She dug into her pouch, taking out another apple gel, passing it over to Tanjiro. He took it gratefully, then placed it in Inosuke's mouth.

"Eat this, Inosuke! You'll feel better in no time! It's really good!"

She couldn't see his expression, hidden under his mask as it was. He paused for only a moment, then chewed excruciatingly slowly before swallowing.

Tanjiro looked on with anticipation. Zenitsu had crept closer, watching with clear curiosity. Nearby, some of the Demon Slayers were eavesdropping too, caught by the lively mood that their three peers were demonstrating.

Oh, and probably also to make sure that the demon guest didn't poison one of their own.

A moment passed.

Two.

"Uhh…" Tanjiro said first. "Do you feel different?"

"_Oi… Tanjiro…" _

Then, he bolted upright, tossing the sheets covering his body away violently, exposing his body.

Wait. Why was he topless when everyone else had their gowns on?

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS CRAP!"

His voice boomed loudly, rattling the tables and beds in the room.

_Heathen. _

Who could stand to hate _apple gel?_

"THE TEXTURE IS ALL RUBBERY! THE FLAVOUR IS TOO SWEET!"

"Inosuke –"

"I ATE IT BECAUSE YOU SAID IT'S GOOD MEDICINE, BUT –"

Abruptly, he stopped speaking. The boar-head turned to face Velvet.

"Thank you."

Then, cackling maniacally, he ran straight out of the room.

"_COMING THROUGH! COMING THROUGH!"_

Everyone within the infirmary stared at the door, Aneko included, as his voice gradually trailed away into the distance.

"Interesting things really happen to you, huh?" Kanae commented, perching herself on the vacated bed. Velvet sent a silent glare toward her.

"Ah…" Tanjiro scratched the back of his head. "That's Inosuke for you."

"He's going to train again, isn't he?" Zenitsu shook his head. "He really needs to learn how to relax."

Ah. _Now _it made sense.

What did Bienfu say about his gel personality test again? Those who hated all gels were battle maniacs, right?

At that point, Aoi came stomping over. "What was _that_?!"

She shrugged. "Another one of my unlicensed medication works, it seems."

"_You_…" she fumed. She drew herself to her full height, glaring at Velvet. Then, she scrunched her eyes tightly, as though forcing herself to ask her next request. "Can you give us the formula for that too?"

Ah… that would be a bit of a problem.

Though fruit, appropriate herbs and a gelatinous base seemed to be in abundance here, she could hardly describe the process of infusing mana into the mashed herbal and fruity mix without giving away her origins. It didn't even really matter which herbs were used, Celica had told her, since it was mana-receptiveness itself that truly did the job.

"It's a bit of a secret. I don't actually have permission to give it away," she explained. Aoi looked indignant, so Velvet continued with what her original plan had been. "How about this – I help you prepare more of that medication instead?"

"Really?" Aoi seemed uncertain. "Lady Kocho has asked to treat you as guests here…"

Come to think of it…

"Actually, maybe Aneko could assist me as well?"

"Huh?" Aneko started. She had been completely silent, not meeting the eyes of Demon Slayers who could kill her at any moment. "Wait, you want _me_ to help?"

"Why does she get to know your formula?" Aoi asked, her eyes narrowed.

Damn. She needed to think fast. Infusing mana was an excellent exercise in control, that paved the way for future usage of artes. Besides, making gels was ridiculously boring, since it involved sending a steady stream of mana into the boiling pot for well over two hours.

Two birds with one stone, really. All she needed was a good excuse.

An excuse… What would Magilou do? She always had the best ideas at times like these –

'_Act. Like. A. Dove.'_

– that memory wasn't helping…

…wait.

As much as she hated to admit it, it did help.

"She's my apprentice, obviously," Velvet lied.

"Wait, _what_?" Tanjiro, Aoi and Zenitsu asked in unison.

"I'm your apprentice?" She sounded confused.

Velvet glared at her. Realisation sunk in moments later.

"Right! Silly me! That I am! I completely forgot! Hahaha…"

Wow.

She was a _terrible _liar. How had she thought that she could get away with lying about the number of people she killed, just the night before?

"…if you say so," Aoi said in obvious disbelief, but didn't raise an objection. "I'll show you to our medicinal stocks later. Can you begin making it today? We have a lot of injured here."

"Sure," Velvet agreed. "If Aneko's up for it, I don't mind."

"I will!" Aneko said immediately, keen to make up for her previous blunder. "Of course I –"

"_This is ridiculous!_"

The outburst was accompanied by a thunderous slam. At once, all conversation fell silent, heads turning to where it had originated from.

One Demon Slayer sat upright at the head of his bed, his body covered in bandages, glaring vehemently at their group with a bloody fist against the wall. Underneath, cracks trailed from the wooden surface, and chips of wood had been sent scattering away.

"Are all of you _blind?!_" he spat, eyes wild with rage. "How can you… how can allof you just stand there and act like nothing's wrong? How can you _talk _to these demons like they're one of us?"

"Oi, Kenjiro, you know we're not supposed to –" the one in the next bed over hissed urgently.

"I won't stand for this!" He removed his fist from the wall, blood flowing freely down his palm. Aneko stirred, but maintained better control than back at the headquarters. "I became a Demon Slayer to kill demons, not to act like friends with one of them! Are you idiots blind?! They obviously hope to poison us all, or worse!"

"Kenjiro!"

"That demon over there looks different, but I know who she _really _is! She used her twisted art to wrap one of our comrades in a ball of yarn! He was stuck there, shouting for help! When Lady Kocho finally came to get him out, all that was left was _liquified remains!_"

Spittle was flying from his mouth with every word. "Am I the only one who can see what they're doing? They want to destroy us from within!"

"Kenjiro!"

"My family was killed by demons; all of them slaughtered to the last! How many of us here have lost loved ones to demons? How many of us became Demon Slayers to kill scum like them?" Despite his injuries, he leaned forward, pointing at her and Aneko. "How can you just stand there, and pretend that you don't see these _monsters_ in front of you? Do your duty as Demon Slayers and _kill them!_"

"Kenjiro, you know that Lady Kocho herself –"

"_To hell with Lady Kocho_!"

There was a loud gasp at that.

Oh, wait, that was Kanae.

Everyone else was simply silent, watching as he panted rapidly, his face burning with anger.

"Kenjiro…"

"What the hell do you want?" He whirled to face a Demon Slayer a few beds away. "Got something to say?"

"Demon..." he coughed weakly. "Demon or not, that – that person saved my life."

Velvet studied him more carefully. There was a lot less blood, but now that he mentioned it…

"You're Usui, right?"

"You –" Again, he wheezed, having moved too rapidly at her intrusion. "You remember my name?"

"My memory isn't _that_ bad," she commented dryly. "You look terrible. Still, your bones seem to at least be in the right place now."

He gave a feeble rasping chuckle. "All thanks to you."

"Are the rest of your group around?" She gave a sweeping glance across the room, looking for any familiar faces.

One of them stiffened as she looked at him. Where had she –

Oh, right, that was the one that tried crawling away from her.

"Seems like you're still scared of me, Kenta."

Again, Usui burst into a coughing fit. Kenta's face reddened, adamantly looking down at his own hands, refusing to meet her eyes. She sighed, continuing her search, but didn't see anyone she recognised.

There was that one girl who had seemed decent enough. At least _she_ prioritised her group's safety over attempting to fight against her own ally, demon though Velvet may be. She'd also taken the initiative of helping to evacuate the injured, although she seemed to have a deathwish, given that she had tried to continue her mission in the mountain.

"Is Ozaki around?"

"You remember her, too?" Usui sounded surprised. "Her injuries weren't as severe. She's having – she's having recovery training somewhere else in the Estate, now."

Hmm. Looks like there was a chance Velvet could bump into her again, then. There was one more Demon Slayer she remembered distinctly, the other less injured one who had helped Ozaki in their evacuation, and then promptly tried attacking her on his own.

"And Eiji? That was his name, right? The one that tried attacking me?"

"Ah… he was here earlier… but I haven't seen him since a few hours ago…"

"Shame."

"Actually, he requested to transfer when he heard you were coming," Aoi interrupted the conversation between the pair.

"Huh. Seems like he has a sense of self-preservation after all."

Usui laughed, then grimaced immediately.

"Alright, that's enough," Aoi cut off any further exchange of words. "Unlicensed medication or not, you're harming my patients."

"Fine," Velvet said.

Just one more matter. She turned to the one who had started this all.

"Kenjiro, right?"

"I don't speak to demons," he spat, his rage not at all having diminished.

"Alright, then. You can listen." Velvet stepped closer, stopping just at the foot of his bed. His defiant glare only intensified. "We're not so different, you know."

"You _dare? _You dare to compare yourself to me?" He roared, enraged, forgetting his previous declaration. "Do you even know what it feels like to lose your entire family to _demons_? Do you monsters even have _feelings_?"

"Of course I do." She shrugged. "I lost my whole family, too. My sister was killed by demons."

Abruptly, his face slackened, ceasing his outburst. Good thing, too. Her ears would start hurting if he carried on.

"A few years after that, my entire village turned into demons, you know," she said calmly, betraying none of her true emotions. "All of them became mindless creatures. I was the only one who remained in control."

'_A daemon that feeds on daemons. A therion.'_

Nearby, Kanae gasped. Velvet ignored her.

"They tried to attack me. I killed them. I killed my best friend, too. Her name was Niko."

'…_You didn't forget, did you? You promised to teach me how to make your special quiche.'_

"You want to know something special about my claw, Kenjiro?" She tapped at her bandaged arm. "When I kill a demon with it, for a few moments before they disappear forever, their bodies turn into humans."

'_Take a look around.'_

_Up above, the Scarlet Night lit the sky a deep crimson. Down below, by her feet, there was only blood. Pools and pools of blood, slowly congealing, deep gouges rent in the bodies of her victims._

"I saw her. Niko. Then the village elder. The shopkeeper. Everyone in my village, slain by my hand."

_All, except the one responsible for it all. Artorius._

"You want to know why I didn't lose control?" she asked needlessly. "There was only one thing that kept my mind focused, you know."

'_But even in the depths of my despair, only two things mattered to me. The taste of blood-soaked flesh…' _

"Can you guess? It's something you should know well."

'…_and revenge upon one man.'_

He remained silent.

'…_and for three long years, I sat in that pit of darkness, and fed. Devouring demons, so I could live long enough to kill him.'_

"Vengeance." With that, she released her arm in all its malicious glory, the tip of her claws resting just at the foot of the bed. "And vengeance I found. So, Kenjiro, trust me when I say that I _do_ know what it feels like. If you want revenge against demons, seize it with your own damn hands."

Just as quickly, she deactivated her therion arm, then turned around.

"I'll make my way to your medicine stocks on my own," she told Aoi.

Not waiting for a response, she began walking to the door.

"Come, Aneko. We're leaving."

She paused at the threshold, giving a final parting message without facing the Demon Slayers in the room.

"Oh, I almost forgot. If any of you even so much as threaten Aneko or Nezuko again, know that this demon has _claws. _This is your only warning."

Silently, Aneko trailed behind her, Kanae hurrying by her side.

"Oi, Kenjiro! Apologise!" She heard Tanjiro shout just moments later. Still, she didn't turn back, continuing on out of the room.

As they stepped into the corridor, Velvet came across the sight of Shinobu Kocho standing there, staring at her impassively, the usual friendly smile she kept on like a mask just a little _too _stiff.

Had she been listening in the whole time?

Well, it hardly mattered.

"You're back early."

With that, she continued walking. Making some gels seemed like it would be a cathartic experience, right about now.

-o-o-o-

"Velvet…"

"I know," she sighed. "I shouldn't have done that. His family was killed by demons."

"Who cares about him?" Kanae snapped, her usual lively mood lost. It was such a contrast to her normal self, that Velvet paused from where she was picking and choosing herbs from the self. "How are _you_ feeling?"

"I'm fine," she brushed her off, then turned to Aneko. The demon had been silently listening to her half of the conversation. Ever since Kenjiro had gone off on his tirade, she had been dazed and rigid, as though afraid of an attack at any time. "Aneko, hold these for me."

She handed her the herbs she had selected. Though she didn't know just what they were, the experimental pulses of mana she sent through them suggested that they would be fine for the job.

"Do you have any fruits?"

"In the kitchen. That direction," she pointed, when Velvet had been about to ask where it was. "And don't change the subject! What was that back there?"

"It was nothing," she said, then turned to her apprentice-in-name-only. "Come."

"It was most certainly not nothing! Velvet, I'm worried about you!"

She snorted, losing none of her stride. "It happened a long time ago, Kanae. I'm over it."

"Kitchen is that way." Kanae tilted her head slightly, gesturing down a corridor. Then, hesitantly, she finally broached the topic. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, walking through a door. "Trust me, I deal with that all the time."

"That's horrible!"

"Welcome to the life of a demon." Velvet entered the kitchen, gesturing for Aneko to set down the herbs on the table-top while she searched for the remaining ingredients. "Huh. You've already got gelatin and plenty of apples, it seems. Guess we'll make apple gel, then."

How fortunate. Before she'd lost her taste, apple gels were always her favourite.

"Damn it, Velvet!" the normally demure Hashira cursed. "I've got half a mind to get over there and slap that rude Mizunoto myself!"

"Be my guest." She shrugged. "Who knows, maybe you can get a wind arte to work or something."

"You know what? I'll do just that!"

Velvet paused from where she'd been grabbing a frankly ridiculous number of apples, turning to watch incredulously as Kanae stomped out of the room, walking with determination. She stood there, listening to the sound of her phantom footsteps fading down the hallway.

She shook her head. What did Kanae seriously expect?

In his shoes, Velvet might even have tried to kill someone like herself, even if she didn't have a chance in hell of succeeding. She remembered just how completely outclassed they had been during their first visit to the Empyrean's Throne, utterly defeated by Artorius even with the help of Phi's healing artes. It had only been his serendipitous opening of an earthpulse rift that allowed their escape.

Besides, did Kanae actually believe that she would be able to do anything to the boy? For years, she hadn't been able to so much as touch an object, up until Velvet's arrival to Japan.

"Is the Hashira gone?" Aneko spoke up timidly.

"Yeah," Velvet said, laying down her choice materials on the table. "You know that she'd much rather you call her by her name, right?

"She's a _Hashira _–" she stammered quickly, then stopped, as though she had just offended Velvet in some way.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine…" she said unconvincingly. "It's just that there's all the Demon Slayers here…"

_Oh, boy. _Dealing with her seemed like it would take the same amount of effort it took to get Phi out of the mindset he'd been in when he had been Number Two.

"If anyone gives you any trouble, come find me."

"You don't have to help me," Aneko said immediately. "I'll be fine on my own."

"Whatever suits you," Velvet said, shrugging. She'd keep an eye out for Aneko, regardless. "Anyway, we're going to start making gels. You're assisting me."

"Wait, you were serious about teaching me?" Aneko asked, surprised.

"What else did you expect?"

"I thought you just wanted me to stay away from the Demon Slayers…"

Velvet snorted. "Trust me, if that's all I wanted, I'd have a better excuse. Making apple gels will help teach you the fundamentals of mana control."

For a moment, she was quiet, then stepped toward the kitchen table. "What do you want me to do?"

"First, we need to prepare the mixture." She looked around, looking for suitable utensils. "Seems like we'll have to pulp these apples by hand. Start working on that, please. I'll begin boiling the water."

Velvet took one of the pots lying nearby, filled it with water, and then set it on the stove. A spark of fire mana later, the firewood ignited, and she left the pot there to heat up.

Satisfied, she turned back to start chopping the herbs, when she noticed that Aneko was still standing there, looking hesitantly as she stared at the apples in front of her. They were entirely untouched, the bowls set before her completely empty. She held the kitchen knife in her hands, but didn't make any move to begin.

"Something the matter?"

"Umm…" Aneko spoke uncertainly.

Velvet made her way over, inspecting the knife Aneko had been given. Its edge was sharp enough for the job, and it wasn't as though there was rust or dirt on its surface.

She frowned. Why wasn't Aneko starting? Was she still thinking about what that Demon Slayer had been saying? Was she still afraid about an attack when Velvet wasn't looking?

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned. "If it's the Demon Slayers –"

"No! It's not that!" she denied. Then, very quietly, she admitted, "I… I don't know how to start."

Velvet stared at her. Aneko's pale cheeks darkened.

"No one ever taught you?"

"If they did, I lost my memories of that time when I became a demon…"

"Have you at least washed the apples?"

"…no?"

She looked so guilty and embarrassed, with such an uncanny resemblance to Phi, that Velvet took pity on her.

She sighed. "I'll demonstrate once, and you can repeat it afterwards."

Wordlessly, Aneko watched from the side, as Velvet began explaining the process to her.

"Start by washing the apples. Then, we'll cut them down into smaller pieces, and put them into a pot. Add water to cover them completely, and leave them to boil in order to soften the flesh up. Then, we use a spoon or spatula to mash them up, and strain down to remove the seeds and skin."

She hummed quietly to herself as she set to work, following the steps that Celica had passed down to her, and that she had in turn learned from her mother when Velvet was too young to remember. Much like their cooking recipes and techniques, it was a secret passed down within the women in the family.

It was funny. Here she was now, teaching a demon how to make apple gels.

Once she had finished with the first set of fruit, leaving them to boil, she bid Aneko to start working on another set, silently observing her.

And thus, they worked at that rhythm, Velvet demonstrating once, followed closely by Aneko. For a first timer, she certainly learned fast.

Then again, she was comparing Aneko to the likes of her past companions. Eizen frequently went off tangent, adding more and more complicated ingredients to each dish he prepared, somehow ending up with bizarre dishes never-before having been invented. Rokurou's rendition of _Rangetsu-style_ cooking simply involved chopping everything into fine pieces, even going so far as to making _juice_ with his knives. And Magilou –

– oh, don't even get her started on Magilou. That witch thought that _salted radish jam on fried eggs _was an actual delicacy.

At long last, the gelatinous mixture of herbs and herbs was set to boil, and she could _finally_ begin the part she wanted to teach Aneko.

"Alright, Aneko. Now, we'll start infusing the mixture with mana as it cooks."

"Right!" she wiped a bead of sweat that had built up from the humidity in the kitchen. "How do I do that?"

"Think of mana as the energy that sustains all life. You've already heard of the earthpulses, earlier. Energy of the world flows through it, and is carried up above. There, it becomes mana, and is part of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat." Velvet began the explanation Celica had taught her. Aneko frowned in confusion, listening to her words carefully.

"Your body naturally stores mana, up to a certain limit. While most humans can barely consciously make use of it at all, as demons we are more able to channel mana through us without our bodies reaching their limits. In fact, from what I can tell, Blood Demon Arts appear to already make use of mana in their composition."

"Huh? Really?"

"Rui's silk, at the very least, seemed to be made of an actual physical component that might have been blood or flesh, charged with both malevolence and mana." She frowned, considering more carefully. "Come to think of it, it's almost similar to a formal arte, bounded by a certain formula."

"What do you mean by a 'formal arte'?" Aneko asked, confused.

"I suppose it's easier to answer that by saying what it's not," Velvet considered. "Watch closely."

She held a hand out, sending a pulse of mana down her arm, shaping and invoking it into a small plume of flame.

"All I'm doing here is expelling mana and converting its nature to something called fire mana," Velvet explained. "By increasing the amount of mana expended, I can go from this, to _this._" The flame doubled in size. "It's crude and inefficient, but it works for me. We call these unshaped or unstructured artes."

She closed her palm, and the flame extinguished itself. Aneko stared at her hand as the last vapours of smoke trailed off from it.

"Formal artes work differently. Some people also call them _structured_ artes. They are bound by a formula, into which mana can be concentrated in order to achieve a desired effect. Through this formula, more diverse effects can be obtained than by an unshaped arte," Velvet continued. "For example, rather than simply launching lightning from his hands, one of my companions could summon divine lightning from the heavens itself to burn his enemies."

_Indignation _was about as impressive as artes got, as far as she was concerned. There was nothing quite as awe-inspiring as watching those magical sigils appearing high above the ground, rotating endlessly, before a massive lightning bolt struck down their foes with an accompanying clap of thunder.

That favoured incantation of Phi's alone had been enough to send their enemies scurrying away, more than once.

"What do you mean by a formula?" Aneko asked curiously, still trying to wrap her head around what seemed like archaic knowledge.

"That's a bit of a hard question," Velvet sighed. "Truthfully, I'm no expert in it myself, but my understanding is that the formula can be an object in itself, a way of shaping and organising the flow of mana, or even something as simple as bodily gestures that alter the way mana behaves."

"I…" she scrunched her eyebrows. "I'm not quite sure I understand…"

"Think of it this way," Velvet backtracked. "The sounds coming out when you blow into a flute and a trumpet are different, right?"

"Uhh…" Aneko looked uncertain.

Velvet sighed. "It's not a trick question, you know."

"Yes?"

"Think of a formal arte as the instrument, and air as mana," she said. "By passing in the same input mana through different formulae, you get different outcomes. Hell, someone somewhere probably already devised and inscribed an arte formula into a flute to make it start playing just by feeding in mana."

"So, you're saying that a formula is a… device, of some sort?"

"That's one possibility. A formula can also be entirely mental in nature, requiring expert control over the shaping of mana into specific structures known as sigils," Velvet explained further. "Often, these are accompanied by incantations that help with concentrating and organising mana. I suspect that your Blood Demon Arts fall into much the same category, actually."

"Why do you say that?"

"Something as complex as generating threads from blood, mana and malevolence needs a defined structure," she explained. "For me, summoning semi-corporeal swords as you saw back when I fought Rui is as far as I can go without a formula."

"Why don't you make use of them, then?" she asked, seeming to understand more about the topic now. "From what you're saying, it seems like formal artes are better in every way."

"I _can't_ use them," she grimaced slightly. That had always been a sore point with her. "You need a certain instinctual understanding over mana, a firm grasp of mana theory, or be something born of mana like a malak in order to make use of them properly."

"But I never needed to think to form my acid cocoon, before," Aneko said, frowning.

"It's possible that somehow, Muzan's blood or Rui's blood mixed into your body to give rise to an intrinsic arte formula, that was lost after being burned away with the rest of your malevolence," Velvet suggested. "Still, I doubt that your capability to use mana will have changed. Who knows, maybe you even retain an instinctive ability to shape structured artes."

"But how do I _use_ mana?"

"How do you use your Blood Demon Arts?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"I just sort of… focus, and push… something," Aneko said, gesturing helplessly as she tried to verbalise her thoughts. "It just happens."

"That's probably mana," Velvet said, nodding. She gave a wry smirk. "Don't worry. I can't give a much better description of how to control mana, myself."

"Hmm…" Aneko mused, deep in thought. "You also mentioned something about gestures?"

"A friend of mine made use of seals to shape his mana," Velvet said, thinking back to just how Rokurou's hidden artes worked. "_Form 1: Fire Burst, _for example, involved him invoking a seal that concentrated fire mana he generated, resulting in an explosion."

"Couldn't you just make use of that? If it's just an action, it shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

"I _could_," she agreed. "Rokurou taught me some of them, even. The problem with it is that it's inefficient for _me_."

"Why?" Aneko questioned with confusion. "It sounds to me like concentrating mana gives stronger effects?"

"It does. It also means that your body's limits get strained more. Think of it like this," Velvet said, remembering just how her brief forays into mana theory had went. "If you have a pipe with twice the cross-sectional area as another one, you can achieve the same total flow by doubling the velocity in the narrower pipe, correct?"

Aneko nodded. Velvet continued.

"That's what a seal does, really. It concentrates mana without making it disperse, allowing you to reach a desired effect where you normally can't, based on how much and how fast you can naturally expel and condense mana."

"I still don't get it, though," Aneko pondered. "If you use a seal, wouldn't you be more powerful?"

"A seal will let me concentrate mana, but my body will quite literally explode," she said dryly. Aneko seemed taken aback at that. "Using mana taxes your body, and this increases exponentially with the desired effect."

"I still don't follow…"

"Let's try this," she sighed. "Celica taught it to me this way. So, imagine you're buying some gels from the store, okay?"

"Gels? Why gels?"

"_You're buying gels_," she repeated, glaring at Aneko, who cowered slightly. "The first gel costs a hundred gald. The second costs two hundred. The third costs four hundred, the fourth eight hundred, and so on."

"And it becomes harder and harder to use mana the more of it you put into an arte," Aneko reasoned.

Velvet nodded. "Exactly. A powerful arte may have ten times the effect of a weaker one, but it will strain your body many times more than that."

"So if you try using a seal, that concentration of mana will break your body apart? Am I understanding that right?"

"Yeah. Even without seals, I can make use of my unstructured artes by expelling and converting mana. Invoking a seal doesn't serve any benefit, since I'm able to condense mana on my own to an amount that my body can just handle, and trying to use seals to condense mana that I expel at a slower rate only wastes precious time in combat."

"Then a formula…" Aneko thought for a moment, mulling over her brief lecture that Velvet really had no business giving. "It disperses the mana? By spreading it out over a wider area, or by changing the way that mana flows, it reduces the strain to your body while still allowing the same final effect?"

Velvet blinked at the remarkably well thought out description. It seemed that Aneko was paying more attention than she'd thought.

"That's quite accurate, actually. It's more nuanced than that, I think, since most of it involves visualisation and making mana flow through sigils, but I think you get the gist of it." She stared at Aneko for a moment. "You're quite a fast learner, you know."

"Ah…" she muttered, abashed. "How do you convert the nature of the mana you expel, then?"

"If you're using an unstructured arte like myself, your own will is insufficient. Formulae, including seals, convert mana into distinct forms directly, like the flute analogy I mentioned earlier. There are more complexities still, for example imbuing mana with malevolence to bolster an arte, but I think you've learnt enough for a day."

"Then…" Aneko frowned, pointing at the mixture that had been left to boil while they talked. "How am I supposed to infuse mana into the gels?"

Velvet smirked. "That, Aneko, is precisely why making gels is an _excellent _exercise in mana control."

Celica, and Arthur after her death, had made use of this exercise to teach her how to wield mana, clumsy though she may be. She had been able to make use of _Searing Edge_ without breaking her body into smithereens even before she became a therion, after all.

Besides, it was always cheaper to make their own gels than to buy them, if one didn't care much for time.

"Watch closely, now."

She held a hand out, idly sending a steady stream of mana at the mixture. Pure mana drifted out, invisible to the eye, not converted as an arte would have done. Had she not directed it directly at the pot, it would simply have permeated the air, and diffused away into nothingness.

Now, though, it was being absorbed into the gelatinous mixture. The herbs drew on her mana readily, and all of a sudden, the mixture started to bubble even more than it had been.

"What the –" Aneko jumped back for a moment, startled, before eventually drawing closer, peering into the red fluid.

"As you can see, you'll know immediately if you're doing it right," she said. "The herbs I've chosen are able to absorb mana. They react with it, and through ways that even I don't understand, give rise to healing properties after infusing it for long enough."

"What happens if you stop the flow now?"

"You can stop the infusion for brief periods of time, but do so too long and it won't become apple gel. If nothing else, you'll just end up with a tasty snack." Velvet shrugged. "No other properties, though."

"How long do you need to keep this up for?"

"Two hours, give or take. When the herbs are consumed, the bubbling stops, and the mixture naturally breaks into small pieces the size of the gels I've given away."

"How many can this amount make?" Aneko asked, peering over at the bubbling mixture.

"Probably around fifteen. While you can make them in larger batches, it's not recommended, because the mixture is a lot more unstable. The slightest of mistakes will ruin it completely, and you won't get any healing benefits."

Aneko was holding her hand out in front of her, a frown on her pale face, face contorted in concentration. Velvet smiled. Was this how Celica had felt all those years ago, when she had been teaching Velvet the same thing?

She had been a _terrible _student, after all. Her first attempt at making apple gel had somehow exploded, something both Arthur and Celica said was technically impossible. Arthur had even gone so far as to claim that she must have had invented a new arte to achieve that effect.

How life was so much simpler back then, when Arthur had been Arthur, a man of laughs and smiles.

"Ready to try?"

Startled, Aneko whirled to face her, almost knocking over a chair in the process. "Are you sure?" she asked uncertainly. "I don't want to ruin it…"

"If the stream of mana stops for too long, I'll take over again until the mixture stabilises," she reassured Aneko. "There's no other way to try, really. Just do what you do with your Blood Demon Arts."

"If you're sure, then."

They swapped places. Aneko placed both her hands over the pot, closing her eyes, while Velvet watched both her newfound student and the brewing pot of nascent apple gel.

"Focus," she encouraged. "Remember, it's all about concentration and force of will. It should be similar enough to your Blood Demon Arts."

"_Hrnngk_," Aneko grunted, her entire face twisting as she strained. "_HRNNGK…"_

Velvet suppressed the urge to laugh. With how hard she was trying, and how low her confidence already was after having had to serve under Rui and now quite literally being trapped in the lion's den, doing so would hardly be appropriate.

Still, though, it was almost cute, although she doubted the Demon Slayers would see it that way.

Velvet glanced over at the mixture, then started feeding a bit of mana to it, causing it to bubble once more before it became destabilised.

"Keep going at it," she said. "It takes a bit of practice."

Wordlessly, Aneko nodded, but was otherwise fully immersed in the task at hand. Excellent.

It took another two cycles of her stepping in before something happened. All of a sudden, the mixture began boiling rapidly as Aneko held her palms over it.

"I did it!" Aneko exclaimed.

That, of course, broke her concentration, and it reverted to how it had been.

"…oops."

Velvet smiled softly. She was pretty sure she had made the same blunder as her all those years ago, Celica laughing at her all the while. Then, her sister had…

Velvet patted Aneko's head, the smaller demon almost jumping with fright. "Good job," she said, mimicking the actions and words her sister had told her during her first experience with the craft of gel-cooking. "Keep it up."

Velvet stepped away, taking a seat now that it seemed Aneko was starting to get things under control.

"Right!" Aneko affirmed, determined, and the mixture began to boil once more.

Huh. She was really taking to this faster than she thought. Did her past exposure to Blood Demon Arts help matters here? Or was it simply the fact that she was a demon? Velvet had, after all, still been a human when she first began learning how to wield mana.

There was a chance, of course, that Aneko was simply talented, or Velvet just _un_talented. She hoped it was the former.

About ten minutes of silently watching Aneko grunt and heave later, she became aware of a set of footsteps approaching. Kanae had returned, a jovial smile on her face. Velvet quirked up an eyebrow as she plopped down onto a chair.

"You look happy."

Aneko lost her concentration once more, saw that Velvet was talking to empty air, and realised what was going on. Wordlessly, she returned to her assigned task.

"Of course I'm happy! The boy who thought he could insult two of my newest friends got just what he deserved!"

"Somehow, I don't think that a former _Hashira _is supposed to put the well-being of two demons over one of her juniors." Velvet stared at her pointedly, then remembered just what Kanae had set out to do. "You don't mean to tell me that you _actually_ used a malak arte on him?"

"Oh, I wish I could." The fire returned to her eyes. "Luckily for me, I didn't even have to move a muscle. Tanjiro and Shinobu did all the work for me."

"They did?" Velvet's brows rose in surprise. "Tanjiro and _Shinobu_?"

"Yeah! You missed quite a good show! Poor boy was in tears after they were both done."

"I find it hard to imagine that Shinobu would even so much as raise her voice."

"Oh, but that's the best part!" Her grin widened. "Tanjiro had given him such a dressing down to begin with, but sister finally chose that moment to make her grand entrance once he was done. She just gave him such a disappointed look, shook her head, told him that he had let the Corps down by disobeying orders and demoted him on the spot!"

"Isn't he already a Mizunoto? Isn't that the lowest rank of your Corps?"

"There's always cleaning duty." She shrugged. "Anyway, Shinobu really mastered the art of being gently scary in the time since I died, huh? I stuck around for a while after she left, and trust me when I say that those boys were star-struck."

Kanae sat there dreamily, staring off into empty space, as though seeing something invisible. Rather ironic, considering that she was a malak. It was a sight Velvet had become familiar with, ever since Kanae had begun devising her nonsensical plan of trying to adopt Tanjiro, Nezuko and Aneko.

"You've got that look in your eye again…"

"Do you think Shinobu will find a good husband soon? Oh, maybe Kyojuro? Do you think he's her type?" She considered for a moment, then frowned. "No, maybe he's a little too eccentric for her. What about Giyu?"

"How am _I _supposed to know about your sister's love life?" Velvet sighed in frustration. A small giggle escaped Aneko's lips, although this time she didn't lose concentration over her mana.

Damn it. Velvet was both proud and annoyed of her now.

"It's strange how I still haven't seen adorable little Kanao around," Kanae mused. "Maybe she's over in the main building?"

"Kanao?"

"Oh, right! I didn't tell you yet, did I? I've got a younger sister, Tsuyuri Kanao." Kanae smiled fondly.

"Tsuyuri?" Velvet asked. "Not Kocho?"

"We took her into our family," Kanae explained. "She was being sold by a slaver at the time –"

"A _slaver_?" Velvet narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Yeah… don't worry, though, Shinobu made a fool of him," Kanae said, face twisting in momentary anger. "She was… well, there's no easy way to put it. She suffered a lot during her childhood. Do you know she never cried? Shinobu always claimed that she was expressionless, but I always knew that there was a part of Kanao deep within just waiting to come to the surface."

"Sounds complicated."

"Yeah… for the longest time, she wouldn't even so much as talk to anyone, but she got a bit better over the years. She wouldn't even budge until we phrased something as an order. Shinobu and I were the only ones she really ever talked to, and even then she would barely say anything." She stared into the air wistfully, lost in her memories. "I wonder how she's changed since then?"

Actually, it sounded a little like how Phi had been initially, come to think of it. Hadn't he interpreted her order for him to keep his mouth shut literally, all the way until he had almost _died_ back in the Laban Tunnels, when they had just met Eizen and the rest of Aifread's pirates?

"I gave her a coin and told her to flip it whenever she needed to make a decision where she didn't know what to do, you know?" Kanae sighed. "I wonder if she ever outgrew that phase? Maybe she found a boy somewhere and fell in love?"

…the second half of Kanae's statement, Velvet would ignore, but the first…

Man, would Eizen have a fit if he heard about someone like that.

'_But if the Reaper learns to grasp the wheel of his life, even he may find his creed, his path through stormy waters.'_

"You're really cute when you smile like that, you know, Velvet?" Kanae said suddenly.

Velvet scowled. "You know I can eat you, right?"

"Aww, you're becoming more and more adorable!" Kanae swooned.

"Say that again, and I _will_ eat you," Velvet threatened, pointing at her bandage.

"Fine, fine," the Hashira said placatingly, holding her palms up. "What were you thinking about, anyway?"

"Nothing important."

"Come on, tell me!" Then, she gasped, covering her mouth with one hand. "Were you thinking about a _boy _you _fell in love with?_"

Velvet snorted. Eizen?

Not a chance in hell.

"I was just thinking about Eizen, if you must know."

Kanae's eyes widened further, stepping closer to Velvet than she really had any business to, grabbing at her hands. "So you and _Eizen_, then?"

"Not a chance," she said, snatching her hands back. Kanae pouted. "What you said about Kanao just reminded me of him, that's all."

"How so?"

"Let's just say that if Eizen and her were ever to meet, he would have some very strong choice words for her."

"Why would he?" Kanae gasped. "Kanao's the sweetest girl you'll ever meet!"

"It's not about that," Velvet sighed. "I told you about Eizen's Reaper's Curse, right? Misfortune follows him and those around him wherever he goes."

"That sounds horrible!"

"It didn't deter him in the slightest. He never let his curse dictate his life. He lived life the way _he _wanted." Velvet smiled faintly, remembering how the headstrong malak had always been the anchor of their little group. "He rubbed off on the rest of us. He steered the wheel of his own life, and we sort of adopted that into our own little creed."

"He seems like a very determined person."

"You bet he is. As an earth malak, he couldn't swim, but he still tried to learn how. The first time he stepped into a river, a flood sent him down a landslide from the mountains and swallowed him up. When he tried going into a lake, seaweed suddenly tangled around him and tried drowning him. Then, when he tried jumping into the ocean, a whirlpool formed right around him."

"Are you serious?"

"Oh, very serious." She chuckled. At times, his passionate adherence to his own creed could go past plain zeal straight into overbearing.

"He sounds like the opposite of Kanao," Kanae noted.

"In more ways than one, really." Velvet dug around in her pouch, searching for one of those special gag coins that Rokurou had Kurogane create. "See this?"

"It's… a coin?"

"Look. Both sides are heads." She held the coin out to show Kanae. "Part of his Reaper's Curse meant that he could _never_ get heads when he tossed a coin."

"Never?" Kanae asked sceptically. "Surely that's impossible?"

"Trust me on that. We tried to get him to land on heads for once with coins like that," Velvet said. "The first coin was blown away by the wind. The second was eaten by a seagull. The third broke into pieces the moment he caught it."

Kanae blinked. "No way."

"You best believe it," Velvet said, smiling wistfully. "Like your sister, he had a coin he tossed all the time. It always came back tails, but he never let it define him. _'If you can't hold something in your hand, then make a fist and take it by force,' _he told us."

In the corner of her vision, she noticed how Aneko reacted slightly to those words, but continued working on her exercise in mana control. It hadn't been Velvet's idea to share Eizen's story in order to help Aneko get over the downcast state she'd been in, but hopefully it had somehow worked out well.

Despite Kanae's penchant to dig her nose into matters she really didn't need to, Velvet would begrudgingly admit that there were certain positives to it.

"To live life by his own rules, huh?" Kanae sounded impressed. Then, she leaned in, a speculative smirk on her face. "Are you _sure_ you two didn't have a thing going on?"

"Tch." She swatted Kanae away. "I told you, it's not like that. Besides, he's over a thousand years old, you know."

"Ah, I see!" Kanae nodded sagely. "So you _do_ like older men, then!"

"There's no arguing with you, is there?" Velvet shook her head, then turned back to her new protégé in the finer arts of gel-crafting. "How's the gel looking, Aneko?"

She flinched slightly, startled at being addressed, but the bubbling of the mixture didn't change. Velvet raised an eyebrow, impressed. To maintain such constant control in her first conscious use of mana spoke volumes of her talent.

"It's going alright, I think. It's starting to feel a little like my Blood Demon Arts," Aneko informed her. Already, she wasn't having to grunt out her words while still releasing a continuous, steady flow of mana. "You and the Hashira had a really long chat, huh?"

"Pfft, call me Kanae, dear!"

A second passed, as Velvet simply stared at Kanae.

"I forgot that Aneko couldn't hear me! Wait, this whole time we were talking… I'm so sorry, that was _so _rude of me!" Kanae gasped. There was a beat, then she glared at Velvet. "Help me say that I'm sorry!"

"Kanae says that she really hates you and that –"

"I did not!" The Hashira kicked at Velvet's shin angrily. "Look, she looks so shocked and sad now! Tell her!"

"Fine, fine," Velvet sighed, then turned to face Aneko, jabbing her thumb back toward where Kanae was sheepishly looking apologetically at Aneko. "She says that she's really sorry that she forgot you couldn't hear her, and to just call her Kanae."

"Huh? The Hashira did?" Aneko asked, surprised. ('_Kanae!'_ the aforementioned Hashira shouted in her ear.) "Oh… it's okay?"

"Tell her to call me Kanae!"

"Can you _please_ call her Kanae so she would stop shouting in my ear?" Velvet sighed tiredly.

"Kanae?" Aneko spoke slowly, very understandably confused.

"Good girl!" Kanae praised. "See? Was that so hard, Velvet?"

She rubbed at her temple slowly. "I swear, I have no idea how anyone ever dealt with you while you were alive."

"Meh, death changes your perspective on things. After years of having no one to talk to, anyone would turn into a chatterbox, really. I was a lot more like how Shinobu is now when I was alive," she said nonchalantly, never once pausing in her speech. "Come to think of it, why _is_ she like that, now?"

"What was Shinobu like before?"

"She was a lot more brash and straightforward, for one," Kanae reminisced. "She would always speak her mind, and challenge you directly whenever she felt something was wrong."

…it was painfully obvious why Shinobu had changed.

"Do you really not know why she changed?" Velvet asked disbelievingly.

"Wait, _you_ do?" Kanae zipped over by her side. "How do you know? Tell me!"

"It's a mask," Velvet said. She remembered how cold and calculating the woman had been, hidden underneath that smile of hers with eyes that betrayed the yearning for vengeance within. "She's emulating _you_."

"There's no way that can be true," Kanae scoffed. "Shinobu would never change the way she is just to imitate me, even if I died. That just isn't who she is."

For a few seconds, Velvet didn't speak. Then, without looking at Kanae in the eyes, she told her about the deep, fundamental truth that only one who experienced _loss_ like they had could understand.

"Trust me on this, Kanae, I know." She stared at her bandaged arm that hid her true self from the world. "When someone you love and care for dies, your entire world changes."

"What are you talking about now?" Kanae asked, concerned at her behaviour.

"I'm saying that I understand your sister's desire for vengeance, and the need to honour your memory," Velvet sighed. She could understand where Shinobu was coming from now, at least. Velvet's entire quest for revenge had been born out a desire to convince herself that Laphi's death wasn't for nothing. "She's going about it in a different way from me, but I know vengeance when I see it."

"It can't be true…"

"Believe what you want." Velvet stood up, bringing the matter to a conclusion. "Anyway, it's almost sundown. You haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday, have you?"

"Velvet…" Kanae's voice trailed away.

"I'll prepare dinner for you two. Why don't you two have a chat while I cook?"

"Oh, that's an excellent idea! Hey, Aneko –" Kanae paused, then groaned as Velvet smirked openly. "Why do you have to do this to me?"

"Huh?" Aneko asked in confusion.

"Nothing. Jokes aside, you did miss my brief introduction to mana and artes that I gave Aneko earlier." Velvet made her way over to the shelves and cupboards, glancing over what ingredients were available. "Aneko, why don't you tell her what I told you?"

"I won't be able to listen to her speak," Aneko said slowly.

"Trust me, it's best for your sanity's sake that you can't." Velvet ignored the indignant '_hey!' _that Kanae gave her. "Eventually, though, you'll probably be able to see her once she becomes more like the other malakhim from my world. I don't think there were daemons who _couldn't_ see malakhim."

_Even before the Opening and Advent, _she added mentally. They didn't need to know about those, though.

"Wait, you're saying that I _can_ talk to Aneko in the future?" Kanae gaped, following Velvet as she took inventory of the kitchen.

"Just begin the lesson, Aneko. She's standing right next to you."

"Oh… alright. So, mana is the energy that sustains all life –"

"Wait up! Velvet lied! I'm not there yet!" Kanae hurriedly rushed over, shooting a final parting glare at Velvet. Unfortunately for her, Aneko couldn't hear a word she'd said, causing her to miss part of the explanation.

"– earthpulse. Our bodies store mana, that can be unleashed as artes…"

Velvet tuned her out. It seemed to her that Aneko had at least a good grasp on what limited theory she had been taught so far.

Right, then. Flour, butter, salt and pepper, eggs, pork belly, cheese, leeks, mushrooms, onions, parsley, cream, garlic, soy sauce, olive oil, sesame oil.

Excellent. All the ingredients were in place.

She hoped that Aneko would like the little reward she had planned for taking to mana control that quickly. She certainly had, back when Celica had done the same thing for her more than a decade ago.

-o-o-o-

"What's this?"

"Quiche," Velvet said, setting the plate down. "It's a family secret recipe. Tell me if you like it."

They had better. The recipe for Crowe's Special Quiche passed down from Celica to her had never failed to send mouths watering, no matter who she cooked it for.

"It looks delicious," Kanae gushed. "Can I eat it now?"

"One second. Aneko, let me take a look at the gel," she said, stepping over to inspect the pot.

"It stopped bubbling a while ago, but it hasn't yet broken into smaller chunks like you said it would," Aneko said worriedly. "Did I mess it up?"

"Oh, you need to send a larger pulse of mana at the end to break it up. Here, I'll show –"

She watched, fascinated, as the gel mixture spontaneously broke apart, Aneko having taken the initiative to experimentally pulse her own mana into the mixture. She looked over at Velvet, an excited and hopeful expression on her face.

"- never mind. Looks like you have things under control." She took the pot off from the flame, covering it back up with the lid. "Good job. Sit down; I've made you some dinner."

"What would have happened if it didn't work?" Aneko asked as she moved toward the table.

"Who knows? Maybe that's how my first batch of gels exploded," Velvet mused. "Not that chair, by the way. Kanae's sitting there."

Aneko gave a small 'eep' as she scurried to the chair opposite the malak, who cooed at the demon girl.

"Aww, she's so shy around me!"

"She's shy because you're a Hashira would could kill her at any moment, you know."

"Aneko! Don't be so scared!" Kanae wailed. "Tell her!"

"I'm not going to play translator for you, Kanae," Velvet sighed. "Ask me to do that one more time and I'll tell her the exact opposite of everything you say."

Gently, she scooped the finalised spheres of apple gel from the pot, placing them on a tray. "Eat up, Aneko," she said, bringing the pot to the basin. "You must be tired after two hours of that, and having to explain all about mana to Kanae."

"I don't actually need to eat –"

"You can still taste, can't you?" She raised an eyebrow, while Aneko nodded meekly. "Then _eat."_

Hesitantly, she took a bite of the quiche. Velvet watched expectantly, searching for that familiar reaction everyone who had ever tasted Celica's special quiche made –

"It's good!" Aneko's eyes grew wide, taking a second large mouthful. "It's actually really good!"

"_Actually?" _Velvet quoted. "Are you implying something there?"

"I mean – "

"Relax, Aneko. I'm just joking."

She wouldn't ever have joked just a few months back, when she was still hell-bent on her quest for revenge.

Alas, now, when she could finally see past the veil of hatred and her single-minded focus on dragging Artorius to the grave along with herself, the only ones privy to her humour were a demon who was constantly on edge and a malak who never shut up.

"Stop teasing her, Velvet!"

She sat down between the pair, cutting a small slice of the quiche she'd made. With how many ingredients she had available, there was quite a fair amount of extra food that they definitely wouldn't be able to finish.

Hopefully, Tanjiro and his friends would appreciate that little gesture.

Who knows, perhaps if she told them Aneko made it, they would at least like her just a little bit more?

"Velvet ..."

"Yes, Kanae, I'll feed you," she groaned, bringing the slice that she'd cut over to Kanae's waiting mouth. "I swear, you're just like a little baby."

She smiled brightly as she bit down on the tip of the triangular slice. Then, she paused for a second, unmoving as though a statue. Her eyes grew comically large, then without warning, she lunged forward, devouring the rest of the slice.

Velvet withdrew her hand quickly, but alas she was too late. Her fingers came back damp with Kanae's saliva. Her face twitched, while Kanae chewed innocently, her expression one of absolute bliss. Aneko just watched on, in mixed amazement and disgust, as in front of her eyes the quiche disappeared into nothingness while small flecks flew across the table.

"Man, this is _really_ good, Velvet!" she praised after swallowing the large mouthful she had taken.

Very slowly, almost excruciatingly so, Velvet wiped her fingers down on the tablecloth, glaring intensely at the malak all the while.

It was only then that Kanae realised just what she had done, and she blushed heavily.

Velvet shook her head. "You're _actually _a little baby, aren't you?"

"Hey, you try dying and going without food for years and tell me that you won't do the same thing!" Kanae tried defending herself.

"I think I've seen daemons eat flesh in a more civilised fashion than that," Velvet said. "Hell, I think even my brother wasn't that bad when he was a baby."

"Wait, you have a younger brother?" Kanae questioned. "You never told me that!"

"Wasn't relevant."

Laphi... Laphi was a complicated matter. She loved the memory of him, but after learning about how he had willingly acted as a sacrifice for Artorius...

It was difficult reconciling the Laphi she knew and who he really was. Sure, she knew that they both loved each other, but still there was a mild sting of betrayal that she couldn't shake off that he would throw his life away like that.

Then again, she really wasn't one to judge. She had been about to do the same; killing Artorius even if it meant her own death to avenge Laphi.

Crowes really were a dysfunctional bunch.

"H- hey, don't look so glum, Velvet!" Kanae hurriedly added, waving her hands about. "You've got us now!"

"Pretty sure that only makes things worse," she retorted without missing a beat. Had her expression actually changed, anyway? "Sometimes, I don't know who is more annoying between you or Magilou."

"Magilou?"

"Mazhigigika Miludin do Din Nolurun Dou," she recited.

"Pardon?"

"Never mind. Just eat."

Silently, she fed Kanae another slice. This time, she at least had the decency to slow down her frankly phenomenal rate of devouring the pastry, but the spark in her eyes as she chewed just made her look like a really grown up baby.

"Aren't you eating at all, Velvet?" Aneko finally spoke up.

"Oh, right. I haven't told you yet. I can't taste anything," she said.

"You can't taste?"

"See, that's what _I _said!"

"Quiet, Kanae. Grown-ups are talking," she shushed the Hashira, feeding her another bit of quiche as though a pacifier. "And yes. It happened shortly after I became a therion."

"How in the world can you cook something like _this_ without your taste intact?" Aneko featured wildly at the now half-eaten dish. "It's amazing! It's better than blood, even!"

Unseen by Aneko, Kanae flinched.

"Like I said, my sister taught me."

"She taught you how to make gels too, right?"

Velvet nodded. "That, and many other things."

"An older sister, huh?" Aneko mused to herself. "I wonder how that's like?"

Kanae chortled suddenly, sending bits of crumbs flying from her mouth, right into the face of a shell-shocked Aneko. Velvet couldn't blame her; being pelted by partially chewed food appearing from thin air wasn't an everyday occurrence, even for her.

"Hah!" she giggled. "The _Older Sister _doesn't know what an older sister is like!

Velvet groaned at the weak pun. Aneko looked at her curiously, but Velvet simply shook her head.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Then, she sent an icy glare at Kanae, withholding the slice of quiche in her hands. "If you don't behave, I'm not feeding you."

"No! I take it back! Please, don't –"

Suddenly, she fell silent. Velvet knew exactly why; she was feeling that same sense of shock.

Aneko was _laughing._

Once again, Velvet was suddenly reminded of Phi, how he had broken out from being the emotionless tool into the opinionated malak that came to adopt Eizen's creed. From being a malak they had technically kidnapped, he had become Velvet's closest friend. A _brother,_ almost.

By her side, Kanae looked on with a faint smile as Aneko finally relaxed for the first time since entering the mansion.

"You're like a mom disciplining her child," she said between giggles. "Is the Hashira really _that _bad?"

"Yes." "No!" Two voices called in unison.

"How old is she, anyway?"

"She claims to be nineteen, although I'm starting to suspect that was a lie."

"I _am _nineteen!"

"Could you –" Aneko hesitated for a moment, but then continued with what she wanted to say. "Could you tell me how the Hashira – how _Kanae_ is like?"

Huh. What an odd question.

"Hey! She said my name!" Kanae stretched her hand out, her fingers slipping through Aneko's hair as she pat the girl. "Good girl, Aneko!"

"How can I put it…" Velvet tapped a finger at her chin idly. "Appearance wise, she looks like Shinobu, but her behaviour is the complete opposite. She never shuts up, either. The whole time we were walking from the headquarters, she was telling me how once she learned to perform malak artes, she would go around pranking people."

"Hey! Setting people up isn't pranking! Consider me an agent of love!"

"Your Love Hashira has got that covered, I think. Ironic, considering your first plan was to send a gust of wind to sweep her into Obanai's arms." Velvet rolled her eyes. "Why do you even think they would fit well together, anyway? They don't seem like they would make a good pair."

"Uhh… what?" Aneko asked, lost in the one-sided conversation.

"Treasure your sanity while it lasts. One of these days, she might just find out how to act like a proper malak and probably be seen by you."

"You best believe that day is coming soon! I'll adopt Aneko, Tanjiro and Nezuko into my family!" Kanae swooned.

"I think you need to prove that you're not actually a little child before you can do that, Kanae."

"_Yes, mom_," she droned mockingly. Then, a calculating look appeared in her eyes. "Wait… mom…"

Uh-oh. Warning bells were ringing.

"You cook really well, Velvet…" She leaned in close. "_And_ you knew exactly how to teach Aneko to use her mana, and then even fed me while I ate…" She gasped. "Are you a _mother?"_

"Of course not," she scoffed. "Besides, can demons even become mothers?"

"The Mother Spider Demon was a mother –"

"Her name was _Miyuki_, and that mockery of a family you were a part of was anything but," she growled. "Rui's vision of a family was twisted. That's all there is to it."

"But then what is a family like?"

"You don't know?" Velvet asked, both surprised and shocked, with an undercurrent of anger.

"I forgot my memories of the time I was a human… Rui's family was all I had…"

Damn it. Whether or not he had a tragic story of his own, Velvet really wished she had made Rui suffer just a little bit more. Perhaps if she were more like Rokurou, she could have cut him up finely enough to near-transparent slices.

"Alright, Velvet! New plan!" Kanae suddenly exclaimed. "I'll be Aneko's new sister!"

"I thought you wanted to be Aneko's mother?"

"What are you two even talking about?"

"Oh, no! See, that's where you come in!" Kanae grinned smugly. "You can cook, you can fight, you can teach; you can do everything! You're practically _mother material_!"

"I'm not going to be a mother –"

"WAAAAH!" Kanae wailed loudly, attempting to clutch on to a bewildered Aneko. "Mother's bullying me, sister!"

Right. Best that she take her leave before she truly becomes insane from this nonsense.

"I'm going to bring these up to Tanjiro and the rest." She gestured at the vaguely half-eaten quiche. "Aneko, are you coming along?"

"I'm lost about what you and Kanae are talking about…"

"Don't worry, you're missing nothing important. Let's go."

Kanae tried to continue pestering Velvet, but gave up after a while once it was clear that she wasn't about to respond any time soon. Instead, she began to walk alongside them, looking searchingly at the pair as though appraising them for something.

Knowing Kanae, Velvet wasn't sure if that was really the better alternative.

"What are we going to do now, anyway?" Aneko asked as they made their way through the corridors. "I know you said you wanted us to work on artes, but how long do you plan for us to stay here?"

"I'm not sure," Velvet replied honestly. "Kagaya did raise a good point that Muzan would try to hunt us down. I might be able to handle myself, but there's no way that you can hold your own against him." Then, she asked Kanae a question. "How do I compare against Muzan, anyway?"

"No one knows," she said, grimacing. "The last one of us to fight him must have been during the Sengoku period." Finally serious for once, she regarded Velvet gravely. "You fought impressively well against Rui on Natagumo Mountain, but Muzan is entire orders of magnitude above his strength."

"Not to mention durability, too," Velvet mused. Though she had power in spades, her vulnerability had always been one of her big weaknesses. If she had taken tens of seconds to drain Rui of his malevolence, she could only imagine how much more of it Muzan possessed, since by all accounts all it had taken was a small gift of blood to transmit malevolence to his subordinates.

"Do you remember anything about him, Aneko?"

She flinched for a moment, a knee-jerk reaction to the past forbidden topic of talking about Kibutsuji Muzan. "I don't know," she said slowly. "All the memories I have are hazy. All I remember is the sheer sense of power I felt from him."

Hmm. That didn't bode well. Velvet liked to think that she at least matched him in the malevolence department, if not outright overshadowed him, since she was one of Innominat's seven mouths. If she treated him as one of the daemons of Desolation that she was used to, she might be able to outmatch him in terms of pure destructive capability, but that regenerative ability of his would undoubtedly make a prolonged fight difficult for her.

Further thought would have to wait, though. They were now in front of the infirmary. Velvet gave a slight nod to Aneko, who steeled herself, before they entered the room, Velvet carrying a tray of apple gels while Aneko carried a half-eaten quiche.

She should _probably_ have baked an extra, now that she thought about it. Kanae was a messy eater.

The room fell silent as they stepped in. _No guesses as to why._

Kenjiro was still there, although his eyes had lost the fire in them. He looked defeated and humiliated, only regarding her for a second before staring back at his sheets. Tanjiro and Shinobu must have done a better job than she'd thought.

"Tanjiro, Zenitsu," she greeted. It seemed that the boar-headed one – Inosuke? – still wasn't back. "We've brought food."

Aneko sent a final worried glance at her. Velvet nodded encouragingly, and she made to step forward toward Tanjiro's bed, placing the bed on the bedside table.

"Quiche," she explained to Tanjiro's unasked question. "We made some extras."

"Oh! An offering of food from an angel!" Zenitsu rushed over to Tanjiro's side, snatching a slice before his friend could take one.

Was it just her imagination, or was his voice just a little _too_ stiff now? Was he as apprehensive about their presence as the rest of his peers now, after the manner in which she had previously exited the infirmary?

"Zenitsu! Don't be rude!" Tanjiro scolded, before he stood up and gave a slight bow toward Velvet and Aneko. "Thank you very much!"

"Don't worry about it. Why are the two of two even still here, anyway?"

"Ah… they said they wanted to do some final examinations to make sure that our injuries are gone," Tanjiro explained. "Tomorrow, we will begin recovery training."

She ignored the loud cries of delight that Zenitsu gave after taking the first bite, as he promptly began devouring the quiche. She cocked her head to the side, gesturing at Nezuko's box that was placed by the side. "Does Nezuko want to eat, too?"

"Huh?" He seemed startled for a moment, then frowned glumly. "Nezuko… Nezuko doesn't eat. She hasn't eaten anything since she became a demon."

"Aneko's eaten it too, you know."

"Wait, really?" Tanjiro asked, incredulous, his head whirling toward the smaller demon. "You eat _food_?" His head fell. "Oh no… I'm a _terrible brother_…"

"Ah, actually…" Aneko said hastily, simultaneously startled and bewildered at the attention suddenly directed at her. "I haven't eaten anything but flesh up until Velvet saved me…"

Velvet didn't miss the ripple of tension that spread across the room as she spoke about her past as one of Muzan's demons, and she doubted Aneko would either. Nonetheless, Tanjiro hurriedly opened the box, taking out a drowsy Nezuko that was slowly rubbing at her eyes, perplexed at the interruption.

"Nezuko! Nezuko! I'm so sorry!" Tanjiro's head bobbed rapidly. "I'm a terrible brother! No, a terrible _person_! Do you want some food?"

Nezuko blinked, confused, staring up uncomprehendingly at her brother.

"Here!" He cut another small slice of quiche, holding it out to her. "For you! Aneko and Velvet made it!"

She just stared at him, hard, tilting her head to one side.

"Oh, right! You can't eat with that on! Umm…"

He paused for a moment, as though uncertain about whether or not to remove the bamboo gag.

"Why does Nezuko even have that on, anyway?" Velvet asked.

"It's so that she doesn't accidentally bite a human if she ever loses control," Tanjiro hurriedly explained. "Tomioka-san put it on her when he spared her life two years ago."

"Take it off." Velvet snorted at the look of surprise that Tanjiro shot her. "She refrained from drinking the blood of the Wind _Hashira_. Two years ago she might have lost control, but that was a long time ago."

Hell, to have survived for _two years_ without eating anything? Velvet knew that sort of hunger well, but even she at least had a constant supply of demons being thrown into her pit on Titania to at least stem the tide somewhat at the very beginning.

Besides, being gagged like that was something she disapproved of heavily. It reminded her of how Phi had been but a tool during his time as Malak Number Two, stripped of all individuality.

"Uhh…"

"I think that Aneko or myself would sooner lose control than Nezuko," Velvet said truthfully. "Take it off, or I'll do it myself."

Tanjiro was still uncertain, but complied nonetheless. "Be good, okay, Nezuko?" he cajoled gently. "Big brother is going to take off your gag now."

Nezuko still seemed to be unaware of what was going on around her, dazed from being untimely woken up from her sleep. When at last the strap was removed from her head, she just looked around with plain confusion at everyone present, entirely harmless.

"Come now, Nezuko!" Tanjiro seemed encouraged by the fact that she hadn't immediately become berserk. "Big brother's going to feed you some food now, okay?"

With that, he began feeding her; Nezuko taking slow, tentative bites initially, before picking up the pace and nibbling rapidly through the slice with a contented smile.

"Aww, she's so cute!" Kanae swooned in an instant. "How could Giyu bear to do that to her?"

"How did you know Nezuko wouldn't lose control of herself?" Tanjiro asked, curious, as he cut another slice for his sister.

Velvet shrugged. "I know hunger," she said simply.

Watching the still-bemused Nezuko being frantically fed by her doting brother made her recall the times she had done the same with Laphi. Even just prior to his death, she had continued feeding him medicines and his favourite food in the days where his frail body just couldn't support himself, no matter how much he adamantly claimed that he would be fine on his own.

Laphi… she could understand why he sided with Artorius, knowing now about the inevitable death by the age of twelve that would come from his affliction. Still, with the bittersweet memories of the times they had spent together, she couldn't help but feel the contradictory pang of betrayal and doting love she had always felt for him.

At least this sibling pair would hopefully have a better future than the dysfunctional Crowe family.

"Y…" Nezuko made a sound. Instantly, they all fell silent, watching her as she stared with determination at Aneko and Velvet.

"Yum!"

Velvet snorted, as Zenitsu promptly tackled Tanjiro once more, moaning all the while about how he had, she would quote, '_cruelly kept Nezuko's cuteness hidden from the world'._ She had no idea why Nezuko couldn't speak properly, but demons of this world were bizarre enough as they were. She would accept this as yet another oddity that came with those transformed by Muzan's blood.

She left them to their devices, turning her attention now to Aoi, who had been respectfully standing aside. "We've made gels like you requested," she said, pointing to the tray that had been set aside. "Fifteen apple gels. Their effectiveness decreases if taken consecutively, so make sure to stagger them apart."

"Thank you!" Aoi abandoned her usual stoic demeanour, carefully inspecting the finished products. "I'll start distributing them right away!"

"If you think that I'll eat something made by demons –"

Kenjiro was silenced immediately by the venomous looks sent over by not only Tanjiro, but also Zenitsu, Aoi and even several of the Demon Slayers Velvet had come across on the mountain. His head fell, his indignation dying before its flames could even be rekindled.

"Remember Lady Kocho's words, Kenjiro," Aoi warned. He blanched, nodding hurriedly.

There were ten beds in the infirmary. The most injured of the lot was Usui, who even with Velvet's initial life-saving apple gel back on the mountain was still much worse off than the rest. He accepted the apple gel offered by Aoi gratefully, as she went continued on her rounds to the rest of the beds.

One by one, they ate their new medication dutifully, its effects invigorating them within a matter of seconds to minutes. Some of them offered their thanks, but many more did not.

It didn't matter to her, anyway. She never expected any gratitude from them.

"Did Shinobu assign any place for Aneko and I to stay?" she asked Aoi once she returned.

"_Lady Kocho_ has told us to prepare the guest rooms for both of you," she replied, only slightly miffed at the overly-familiar way Velvet had addressed the Hashira. "Please, follow me."

"Alright. Aneko, we're leaving."

Out they went from the infirmary again, Kanae navigating through the corridors of her former home with familiarity. Aneko wasn't as tense as she'd been at the start of the day, after having seen at least some of the Demon Slayers quelling Kenjiro's (albeit justifiable) blind anger.

Her life really did get more and more interesting with each day, Velvet mused. In the three days she'd been in this world, she had met so many people that reminded her of her past companions, either because of their similarities or because they were so completely opposite in nature it was almost bizarre.

Unbeknownst to her, one of those people had been listening in to their conversation just before they entered the infirmary, gifted with extraordinary hearing as he was.

Agatsuma Zenitsu was understandably confused, bewildered, and more than a little uneasy regarding Velvet Crowe. He had been too far away to eavesdrop on them while they had been preparing gels, but he had caught the last portion of their conversation at they walked along the corridors of the Butterfly Estate. She and Aneko had made mention of something they called 'artes', Muzan Kibutsuji apparently wanting to hunt the pair of demons down, and Velvet talking and responding to someone he _couldn't hear_.

She was a demon, that much was clear. She had also saved his and Tanjiro's lives, as well as many other Demon Slayers, as Usui had loudly proclaimed after she had already left the room. Tanjiro had shifted uneasily in the wake of her parting – he was never any good at concealing anything, the poor honest boy – but Zenitsu didn't think it was his place to pry. If whatever secret of Velvet and Aneko he was keeping was worth him going against his honest nature, then it had to be something important indeed.

Zenitsu's ears followed as the sound of her footsteps faded into the distance, across the corridors of the Estate. He could hear a difference in the way she walked and carried herself compared to most demons he met. Velvet was not gentle and pure like Nezuko was, and yet there was no mistaking the resolute determination in her footsteps or the slight fondness she displayed toward Tanjiro and Nezuko. There was sorrow and a sense of purposeless uncertainty, but also passion and determination. She spoke of her and Aneko's past history of having killed humans with regret, and yet no guilt.

In short, she was a mess of contradictions. He had his misgivings, but if Tanjiro trusted her, then perhaps he would too.

Besides, she made an _excellent _quiche. She would be a wife any hot-blooded male would be glad to have (Tanjiro and Inosuke didn't count – those dunces wouldn't know a woman's affection even if directly confronted with it), if she wasn't so overwhelmingly scary. Yet another contradiction for the mysterious demon-angel known as Velvet Crowe, he supposed.

-o-o-o-

Velvet watched over Aneko's sleeping form silently. Her chest rose and fell, and with how she had immediately curled up and fallen asleep on the cushioned mattresses provided by the Estate's attendants, she knew that the smaller demon had to have been tired out by the long day she'd had. Being part of Rui's family couldn't have been easy, and there hadn't been a moment of rest for her since the fighting on the mountain.

Velvet was much more accustomed to sleepless nights, after her long days ever on the move. Artorius may be dead, but now she had other priorities on her mind. Silently, she gestured for Kanae to follow her toward the window, further away from Aneko.

"Kanae," she asked quietly, not wanting to rouse Aneko from her sleep. "Just how powerful are Muzan and his Twelve Moons, really?"

"You killed the Lower Moon Five, but the difference between an Upper and Lower Moon is astoundingly great," Kanae answered. "Any Hashira could probably triumph over a Lower Moon, but fall short against the Upper Moons. It probably wouldn't be far-fetched to say that any of the Upper Moons could defeat all the Lower Moons combined."

"That bad, huh?" she mused absently. "Six Upper Moons and Muzan, against Nine Hashira. The odds don't favour you."

Sure, Rui hadn't been a challenge, but she simply didn't have a basis to compare him against. Sanemi hadn't been too impressive in their duel, since she had been more than easily able to parry his attacks without the use of her claw or empowering her artes with malevolence, but had he been holding back like her?

"Please tell me that you're not considering fighting him," Kanae urged. "I died to the Upper Moon Two. Muzan has to be many, many times stronger than him."

"Upper Moon Two? That's the second top position of the twelve, right?"

Come to think of it, there was an idea there…

"Kanae." The malak sensed the seriousness in her voice, listening to her next words closely. "I want you to tell me how I match up against that demon you died to."

"Well, from what I can tell in your fight against Rui… you were impressive, but –"

"I was holding back." She smiled mirthlessly, as Kanae started at that admission. "What? I couldn't exactly use my malevolence and risk transforming you into a daemon, could I? Besides, I couldn't pack too much mana into my artes, otherwise there would be a risk of collateral damage to you, Tanjiro and Nezuko."

"Just how strong are you?" Kanae gaped.

"Wouldn't we both like to know," she muttered, staring out the window. Now a few days after the Scarlet Night, the moon was starting to wane. It was an entirely different moon from Desolation's own, but the sight was as beautiful as it had been in their days out at sea on the Van Eltia.

She hadn't been able to use her artes to their fullest potential. She could hardly launch a _Scarlet Edge _or set the entire damned forest ablaze with _Blue Inferno_ with her maximum capabilities, lest she kill those she was trying to protect. Even _Innumerable Wounds_ had been severely handicapped without Phi's glyphs and paper charms, being used more for the principle of how it worked than its truest potential.

Then there was still more uncertainty yet. How would the Scarlet Night change the demons of this world? Why and how did she arrive in Japan? Were there any others who might have been transported from Desolation to Japan?

Would there be any hope that she would ever find her companions again?

She knew, though, that there was likely no way for her to return to Desolation. Even if she _could_, she wasn't certain if she wanted to. She had been the cause of far too much devastation in her time as Lord of Calamity, and the Shepherd's teachings too ingrained among the populace, that there was no way she would ever be welcomed back.

For now, her place was in this world.

"Tomorrow, I'll start training with Aneko. If she's ever going to learn how to be independent, she needs to get strong enough to at least have a shot of shaking off Muzan on her own," she decided. "You can work on trying some malak artes too, now that Aneko's explained how mana works."

"Of course. I'm dying to have a chance to actually _do_ something, anyway. Figuratively speaking, of course, since I'm already dead." Kanae's eyes narrowed, noting that Velvet hadn't made mention of what _she_ would be doing. "What about you?"

"Training, of course." She took off her gauntlet and boots, setting them aside, but of course still within reach in the event of an ambush. "In the morning, I want you to tell me just how I compare against the demon you died to. I need to know how I fare up against Muzan."

"You can't possibly mean to fight him!" Kanae was aghast. "There's no way you can win!"

"Maybe." She shrugged, unrolling the mattress she'd been given. "It's never stopped me in the past."

Besides, Muzan was, as far as she could tell, someone she would have no moral dilemma going up against. She _hated_ anyone who lorded over others as he had, who had gone so far as to build in a mechanism with which he could kill his underlings if they so much as tried saying his name. He was someone who saw everything in the world as his tools.

And, well, if Kanae was going to lecture her on the impossibility of her task, Velvet hadn't yet revealed the fact that she and her companions had went up against an Empyrean, in all respects practically a god worshipped among those of Desolation. Sure, he may have only _just_ awakened his true power by taking in Artorius' despair when they armatised up in Innominat's domain, but for that final fight he had been a true Empyrean.

"…good night, Velvet," Kanae finally said.

"…good night."

There was to be no restful sleep for her. The only sweet dreams she had were during her time locked together with Innominat, in what felt like both days and years ago.

-o-o-o-

Rui was dead. He had felt it.

He had also felt the deaths of the other dispensable minions that had been part of his silly idea of a family. Still, Muzan had allowed his former useless Lower Moon to have that particular bit of freedom, if only so that he would at least be easier to control. Weak though they may be, his Lower Moons at least served some purposes in the times where he needed an effective distraction.

There was one among those demons on the mountain, though, that he had lost a connection to, and yet he knew without a fact that she was not dead. It was both so much like and yet very different from Tamayo, who had escaped from him in ages past, rescued by that damned accursed swordsman who –

There was the sound of a flesh and bones breaking, a loud popping sound, as an explosion of gore coated the street he was standing in.

_Tsk_. Just the thought of that damned Tsugikuni Yoriichi alone was enough to send his blood boiling. Now he had just ruined a shirt, yet again.

There was a scream, promptly silenced as a throat was ripped from the man's body.

He sighed. Even killing these nameless fools didn't provide any entertainment anymore. That was the last of the lot in this village, too.

At least this visit had brought some leads, unlike the other eight villages he had visited.

He stepped through a window of one of the buildings in the village he had paid a visit to, appearing once more within his Dimensional Fortress. The merest of thoughts, and the form he took changed from that of a small boy to the one he had taken to wearing in recent years.

He didn't know how that nameless demon had managed to sever their connection. She certainly was nowhere near as capable like that traitorous Tamayo. Still, though, he would make sure that she would die painfully for ever thinking that she could break apart from him, after receiving his gift of blood.

Nakime's eye was covered by her long hair, but he could still feel the burning curiosity raging within her. As always, her silence was her best virtue, followed closely by her loyalty.

"Something different in that village, actually," he spoke mildly. "They mentioned having been rescued by a so-called Red-Armed Demon from other demons."

And there was the matter that now perplexed him. The other villages had mentioned being saved by those damned Demon Slayers, but this Red-Armed Demon Girl had somehow arrived in that village before them. They had claimed that for the briefest moments, they had seen her leaving just as _dawn began to break._

At long last, he had found what he had been looking for. A demon had survived _sunlight_.

The village was, coincidentally, remarkably close to Natagumo Mountain where he had ordered Rui to engage in capturing and killing nearby humans to serve as a distraction.

Was this 'demon', then, responsible for everything? Had she caused that crimson moon, and yet somehow _allied_ with the Demon Slayers against Rui?

Was she one of the doctor's past patients? Did she have the secret of the Blue Spider Lily, that allowed her to thrive in sunlight?

Was she even truly a demon?

The questions he had only grew.

He had his doubts, but it was nonetheless a lead to finally achieving perfection. He had embarked on more dubious searches in his mission to find the Blue Spider Lily.

Regardless of what the truth was, whoever this person was, she was clearly making herself out to be an enemy. It didn't matter to him, he supposed, since he would have killed her anyway. All that these events changed was how much she would suffer before he finally took and assimilated her as part of himself, overcoming the last weakness that remained of his otherwise perfect body if she was a demon.

If she wasn't, then… well, that was one less Demon Slayer to worry about.

He had initially planned to remove all his remaining Lower Moons entirely, but plans had to change. Weak though they may be, they at least provided suitable means by which he could test her capabilities and those of the Demon Slayers, beyond their uses in information-gathering and throwing off the swordsmen that dogged his every move. No doubt they would soon learn of the villages attacked by demons on that night having been ravaged to the ground.

It was time for a report. He nodded at Nakime, but before he had even done so, she had already taken the initiative to strum at her biwa.

Capable lieutenants were so very rare, indeed.

"M- my lord!" Daki immediately knelt down before him, still in her oiran guise, head bowed deeply. Doma had been the one to turn her, but she still knew her place within their hierarchy. Excellent.

"Rise, Daki." She started at being addressed, but her eyes burned with undying loyalty and passion. "Any news?"

"Yes, my lord!" she affirmed immediately. _Truly_? Now even _he_ was curious. She spoke quickly, seeing how his interest had temporarily been roused. "One of my girls mentioned that a client travelled from further north, my lord! He spoke of how on the night of the red moon, he had heard the cries of demons in the woods while traveling south from Miyagi prefecture to Tokyo!"

"Demons, you say?" he pondered. "I trust you have verified these claims before reporting them?"

"Of course!" she affirmed immediately. "I immediately checked with the other oirans in the district, and the businessmen traveling from that direction reported similar stories! One even claimed that he saw demons fighting one another!"

"Truly?" he mused. "He says that they are demons?"

"Yes! He claims that he fled from them on his carriage, and personally saw monsters with the heads of wolves, the bodies of lizards, the hides of dragons and fangs sharper than any beast he'd seen before! They were mindless and savage beasts that fought relentlessly against each other!"

"Hmm," he hummed, pondering over what he had just been told. Demons fighting one another? It hadn't been near one of the villages he had been told was involved in the events of that night, either. Had there been more demons forming without his blood than he'd thought?

"And the men?"

"Dead, of course." Daki bobbed her head rapidly.

"There is nothing to link the deed back to you?"

"None, my lord!" A trace of fear entered her voice. "I made certain of that."

"Excellent." He nodded once at her, and saw how her face lit up. "You are a special demon indeed, Daki. You and your brother deserve your place among my trusted Upper Moons."

"I – I live to serve!"

"Continue listening for information. You have done well, Daki."

With that, he stepped back, entering his Dimensional Fortress again.

Demons fighting one another. A Demon Girl that saved a village.

More and more mysteries were piling up, all stemming from the night of the scarlet moon. He would need more information.

Thankfully, then, that he hadn't yet killed his Lower Moons. If they couldn't handle a task like this, then they were truly useless.

"Gather them."

Within moments, they appeared, summoned by Nakime from where they had claimed their own nests. There was clear uncertainty on their faces, and a defiance that he didn't like. At least they still knew their place, prostrating themselves before himself immediately.

Ah, well. He couldn't ask for much from tools such as these. They hadn't lived for centuries like his more capable lieutenants had done.

"Rui is dead," he said plainly.

To their credit, they did not show any visible reaction to that declaration.

"I have one question to ask of the five of you," he spoke with a mild tone. "Why are you Lower Moons so utterly pathetic?"

Some of them flinched at that.

"For over a century, none of the upper ranks of the Twelve Moons have been replaced," he continued. "Unlike them, members of the lower ranks have constantly been recycled. Unlike them, none of you have ever managed to kill a Hashira. Your sole purpose is to kill and devour humans, to gain power, that you may be useful to _me_."

He tilted his head slightly, releasing just a pulse of his power, but enough to send them trembling. "Tell me, then. What use have I of you five?"

_You say that, but what the hell do you expect that we – _

"Oh, Kamanue? Were you going to finish that thought?" He stepped closer. "Could it be that you five are so worthless that you don't know what I _expect?_"

_He can read – _

"Yes, Kamanue. I know your every thought. I know you've only recently joined as Lower Moon Six, but please do try to keep up." He sighed with disappointment. How pathetic. "To be frank, I had every intention of killing every last one of you and simply relying on my more capable Upper Moons."

Now, there were cries of outrage and immediate protest from four of the five. Only Enmu remained silent, his head still bowed, calmly listening to everything that was being said.

He had potential.

"Silence." A flash of Muzan's aura, and they couldn't so much as budge, prostrated before him. "Rui died a pathetic death. Weak though each of you may be, I offer you a chance at redemption."

"How may we serve?" Wakuraba immediately asked, not daring to look him in the eye.

"I trust that all of you are aware of the events that occurred on the night of the crimson moon?"

"Yes, my lord." Rokuro, Lower Moon Two, spoke. "I have caught word that some demons appeared and destroyed several villages."

"Accurate." Muzan nodded. "It appears that some demons have been born without my blood."

_Born without his blood? But how – _

"Silence your thoughts, Mukago." Her thoughts were grating to his ears. At least she had the self-control to stop herself. "I have received word of different reports, my Lower Moon. It appears that there has been a Red-Armed Demon Girl who saved a village from demons, and who I believe to now be allied with the Demon Slayers."

"Impossible! No demon would –"

"Are you _questioning _me, Kamanue?" Abruptly, the Lower Moon Six paused, and Muzan nodded. "Good."

He cast his gaze across all five once more. "It also appears that one of the demons in Rui's little family has turned against me. I want her eliminated."

"It will be done! I will –"

"I am not finished, Wakuraba. I want her and the Red-Armed Demon to be brought to me, preferably alive, that I may learn just what they know. I want them to _suffer_ for thinking they can stand up against me." He paused fractionally. "I have also received word that some of the demons that transformed on that night have been gathered somewhere within Miyagi prefecture, and have begun to fight among themselves."

At least this time, all five of them knew enough not to interrupt him before he finished speaking.

"I want you to locate and study them. Find out what these demons are, and their capabilities. I do not expect much of them, given that those attacking the other villages were dispatched by Demon Slayers, but I nonetheless wish to know how they could have been transformed without my gift of blood."

"It will be done!"

"I'm _still not finished._" One more damned interruption, and he would kill the next one of his minions that dared to speak. "The five of you are to proceed with these tasks. Locate these rogue demons, study them, and report their capabilities to me. Find out about these two demons and capture them. The means of how you achieve this doesn't matter so long as they remain alive."

He gave a final parting warning. "I expect results from the five of you within two months. The one who achieves both of these tasks shall receive my favour, and be promoted to my upper ranks."

Hopeful gazes were shot toward him, and even the calm façade that Enmu held faded, being replaced by a sheer sense of yearning. There was just one last message to motivate them to succeed.

"Of course, I will have no more need for the remaining ones who fail to complete either objective. You will be killed and replaced, like many others before you."

With that, Nakime plucked at her instrument, and they disappeared from sight.

He wouldn't just rely on his worthless minions, of course. When the time came that he knew more, he would take matters into his own hands. He wouldn't run any risk of other demons of his becoming traitors like Tamayo.

For now, all he had to do was wait, just as he had done for centuries.

Sooner or later, he would defeat sunlight.

* * *

**This arc will probably stretch on for another two or three chapters, assuming I can hold my two remaining brain cells together long enough to crunch out something legible. Thinking of introducing Ozaki as yet another secondary Demon Slayer character, in the place of Genya who I still have no idea anything about, having not yet read the manga. The plan is for Velvet to contribute something in the way of mentoring to both the original cast and her smaller crew, keeping the flavour of canon characters while still having her presence be influential on their development.**

**As for stuff from the Berseria world... I have plans for more characters and elements to come in, but they are still rather hazy at the moment and not clearly planned out. Oh well. **


End file.
